Legacy of the Legend
by The Digger
Summary: This is the tale of a boy who seeks to save the one he loves. Little does he know, he's in for much more than he bargained for. Takes place in alternate reality after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Discontinued.
1. The Dragon Ball

**Here it is, my not so epic, so-called masterpiece, not so fresh from Deviantart. Enjoy. **

Naruto was running back to the Leaf village as fast as humanly possible, the heavily injured body of Hinata in his arms, barely conscious. Naruto wasted no time in getting to the hospital and demanding for the hokage's immediate attention. He explained to Tsunade everything that happened while Sakura fixed her injuries as fast as she could.

"What! You were attacked? By Stone ninja?" Tsunade shouted, shocked. Naruto nodded.

"Lady Tsunade, you may want to have a look at this." said Sakura.

"By the way Naruto, what happened to your headband?" Tsunade asked, just noticing that he wasn't prominently wearing it on his forehead.

"Oh, well I have to the metal piece," He pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to her, "But I used the cloth to seal the wound on her arm." Sakura removed the sickeningly blood-covered black, formerly blue cloth to reveal an enormous wound, still bleeding. Tsunade stared at the wound, stunned, and terrified. Where should have been a lot of bright red blood protruding from the wound, there was instead somewhat sickening dark blue blood. Naruto and Sakura both knew about Tsunade's hemophobia (Fear of blood for those who don't know.) but this was something completely different.

"Snake blood virus." Was all Tsunade was able to say.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, knowing that he wouldn't like where this was going.

"Not nice," Tsunade said, obviously having seen people with this virus first hand. "It's banned biological warfare. In the last Great Shinobi war, it was very dangerous, capable of eliminating entire armies with a single infection. Don't worry this infection was done pretty sloppily," She added, seeing Naruto and Sakura moving away from the still barely conscious Hinata. "The virus has infected her, but it won't affect any of you. However, I'm afraid she doesn't have long to live."

"How long?" asked Naruto. Tsunade paused and said, with no satisfaction at all, "One week." Naruto's heart sank.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. There's absolutely nothing I can do for now. I will try my best to find a cure, but I can't make any promises. It may be impossible." Naruto stayed with Hinata that night, lost in dreadful thought. "Hinata might die because of me. Damn it. I shouldn't have been so stupid and let them hurt her. I, I love her. I can't bear the thought of her dying."

"Naruto..." Hinata murmured weakly. Naruto came closer to her."What is it, Hinata?" He asked softly. Hinata gave him an odd-looking scroll from her pocket with a weak, shaky hand. "It will help. I can save me..." Hinata spoke in barely a whisper. "Find it. I... l-lo..." She closed her eyes and slept deeply. Naruto spent the whole night reading the scroll, remembering every pain-staking detail.

"Oh, naruto, you're still here?" Sakura came to check on Hinata the next morning to find Naruto, smiling strangely, especially with the recent events.

"Hinata got this scroll off those stone ninja somehow." Naruto opened it to a certain part and showed it to Sakura, "Nice, huh?" With that, we can save Hinata." Sakura read the writing shown to her.

"Naruto, you're such an idiot." She said flatly. "This is just some stupid myth of the Stone village."

"Oh? Then tell me why they were so intent on getting that thing back that they attacked us with illegal biological warfare?" Naruto retaliated smartly. Sakura was stunned. For the first time ever, naruto actually won an argument with Sakura.

"Getting what back?" Tsunade entered the room, obviously listening in on the conversation. Naruto showed the scroll to Tsunade, who read through it quickly.

"Ah, now that was a fun memory, finding that artifact. It can only grant the wish of the pure of heart."

"Wait you've actually found this artifact?" Sakura said, shocked.

"Yup. I don't really qualify as 'pure-of-heart' though, especially with a wish for tons of money. But you should be okay, Naruto. Unlike me, you have a noble cause."

Meanwhile, in a secret, unknown location...

"Well, well, well. Now this is interesting." Said Zetsu, or rather Tsu. "Ze tells me a certain nine-tail jinchuriki is looking for something quite... interesting."

"What is it?" Asked the shadowy Akatsuki leader, "A tailed beast or something related to them?"

"Even better," Tsu laughed evilly, "Some sort of artifact that can grant its reclaimer anything they want."

"That IS quite interesting." The unknown leader said, "Where is it?"

"We don't know, but Ze tells me the nine-tails does, so wherever he goes, we'll go."

"What is the artifact called?"

"The Dragon Ball."

**Well, what did you think? Feedback (especially reviews) is always welcome. Before you start typing your review however, I would like to point out that this series is in alternate reality, so forget everything Shippuden told you, because this series will have a completely different story to tell. For example, most of the tailed beasts and their Jinchuriki will be different, as will a few members of Akatsuki, character origins, and so much more. As the story description says, this takes place within the pre-shippuden filler arc time frame, so Shippuden hasn't happened yet and so there's a completely different story to tell. Just thought I'd clear that up ahead of time. Well, enjoy, and please review.**

**Also, see Legacy of the Legend, cosplay photos from Otakon 2009 and possibly other future anime conventions, and a few other, lesser quality fanfics at my Deviantart account, Gyarretto7. See you later!**


	2. The Mission

Very well then, Naruto. Retrieving the Dragon ball will be deemed an S-rank mission." Tsunade declared. "You are to gather whatever teammates you can before..."

"No." Naruto cut across Tsunade. "This is my mission and mine alone. So I'm going this alone."

"Naruto, don't be stupid. Mt. Paozu is in the village hidden among the stones," said Tsunade," "And in case you hadn't noticed on your last mission, they aren't going to let you into their village for anything."

"I don't care, I'll find a way. I always do." Naruto stated stubbornly.

"Alright fine," Sighed Tsunade, "But hold still a moment." Tsunade then made several incomparable hand signs and jabbed her fingers to Naruto's forehead. A small, purple, diamond-shaped mark appeared, just like the one on the Hokage's, then two oddly shaped black ones one either side of it. "You've seen how the purple mark works, it can revive you moments before death, Tsunade explains, "However, after the second time you're revived, it will significantly shorten your life span, so I really, really, REALLY hope you don't need it. The other two marks will help you with your chakra. The left with your shape manipulation, the right with elemental manipulation. Together they will give you chakra control that can rival Sakura's, and maybe help you attain the Namikaze kekkei genkai."

"The what?"

"Never mind. Speaking of Sakura, I think she has something that can help you too."

"Hm? Oh, Right!" Sakura handed Naruto a small bag filled with...

"Beans? Sakura I doubt a couple of beans would help that much." Naruto said bluntly.

"You, know Korin's given divine punishment for comments like that." Sakura scowled.

"Who?"

"Long story. Anyways those are Senzu Beans. Under normal circumstances, they can keep you nourished for ten days, and they can heal in a pinch." Sakura explained," By the way, I recommend you have one now, you haven't have a wink of sleep last night, and that's no way to start a mission." Naruto ate one of the beans, and even though he was clearly recovered, he looked very disappointed.

"Aw, man! I was going to have one last meal at Ichiraku's before I left, but now I'm too full for anything right now." Naruto whined. As everyone laughed, even the incapacitated Hinata gave a vague, weak giggle, a thought occurred to Naruto. "Wait, if these thing can heal, why not just give one to Hinata?"

"Sorry, Naruto, I already tried that," said Sakura, "Apparently they don't affect the circulatory system."

"Oh," Naruto said, disappointed, "Well, thanks for everything."

"Hang on." Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. He removed his green flak jacket and gave it to Naruto. "I think you're way past due for promotion to Jounin. With Lady Hokage's permission of course." He added hastily, looking to Tsunade, who nodded approvingly.

"Oh, and before I forget," She interjected, handing Naruto his headband. "The fabric was stained too badly to be cleaned, so I had to replace it." Sure enough, Naruto's headband had a new, black cloth that looked as though it was carelessly ripped from something. "Where did you get this from?" he asked.

"Ummm... old tapestry I didn't like." Tsunade quickly invented. It was painfully obvious to everyone in the room she was making it up. "Well, bye." Naruto said, walking over to and gently kissing Hinata on the cheek, then jumping out the open window.

"Did he just kiss her?" Sakura asked, surprised. "Did he just jump for a third story window?" Kakashi realized. A loud crash was heard and Naruto calling, "I'm okay!"

Just then, Shizune walked in, most confused. "Lady Tsunade do you know what happened here?" She asked, raising her right arm. The sleeve of her kimono was missing, torn off, by the looks of it. Sakura shot Tsunade a look with furrowed eyebrows which the Hokage recognized as her 'you-in-a-heap-o-trouble' look. Tsunade turned away, scratching her cheek sheepishly, "Uhh, no?"

Naruto was on his way to the gates, when he walked into several of the Konoha 11 as they became known as. Evidently, word of his quest had spread through the village fast, because Several of them gave him items to aid him on the journey, Tenten gave him a high-quality steel sword, Might Gai Rock Lee, their mirrored trademark thumbs-up, wink, and flash of teeth, Choji, a case with a green, yellow, and red pill in it, Asuma, his trench knives, Kiba, a scroll for Naruto to sign in blood to summon dogs, Jiraiya, two scrolls, one with detailed information on several elemental jutsu, and the other one could pretty much guess with the kanji 'hentai' written on the front, Kurenai, A teary beg to save Hinata.

"Good luck!" called Kiba, Choji, Tenten, Kureani, Asuma, and Shikamaru. "Just don't die, you dumbass!" Ino burst out. "Enjoy!" Jiraiya winked, to which Naruto gave a brief, dirty look. "Go forth and show all obstacles you face the power of your youth!" Gai and Lee extravagated, once again flashing their thumbs-up and shiny teeth. Neji and Shino gave Naruto a plain and simple nod. As Naruto stepped beyond the village gates, he smiled.

"I may be going this alone," He thought, "But I have all my friends to back me up. I WILL find the Dragon ball and I WILL save Hinata before it's too late."

Meanwhile, in the unknown Akatsuki hideout...

"Ze tells me the boy just left the village," Tsu told the rest.

"Very well," said the mysterious leader. "Rejoin with him and keep him in close watch." he ordered. Tsu nodded obediently and disappeared.

Meanwhile in another unknown location...

"Lord Orochimaru, I have news." Kabuto told his snake-like master, "The nine-tailed brat has left to find something that would be of great benefit."

"Which is?" Orochimaru asked, uninterested.

"An artifact that can grant the one who finds it any wish. It's no myth either, there's documented evidence that this is a genuine artifact. Think of it, you won't need Itachi OR Sasuke to attain your perfection."

"Very interesting," Orochimaru hissed, "What is this item? Where is it?"

"According to the information I've collected, it's on Mt. Paozu, in the Village Hidden among the Stones. The Uzumaki brat is on his way there as we speak." Kabuto reported.

"Follow him closely," Orochimaru ordered.

"I plan to." His servant bowed obediently.


	3. The Journey

"My god, I hate the desert!" Naruto panted. Currently this was the third day of his quest and he had been trudging through the desert of what he guessed was that of the Land of Wind for almost all of that third day. He collapsed where he stood, unable to get back up, or even to open his eyes. Two figures approached him.

"Look, here he is." Said the first.

"What do we do now?" Asked the second through a radio headset.

"Bring him back for questioning." The person on the other side of the radio answered.

Several hours later, Naruto woke up and saw a person approach him. Instinctively and impulsively, he grabbed the steel sword given to him by Tenten and swung it at him as hard as he could. It was blocked instantly, not by a weapon or another sword, but by a stream of sand.

"Gaara?"

"Glad to see you again, Naruto," Gaara greeted him in his low, somewhat dark voice. "Although I was expecting a bit of a kinder greeting to the one who saved you."

"What?" naruto looked confused.

"You collapsed in the desert, remember? There was a sandstorm coming in and those can be very dangerous in these parts." Gaara explained.

"Oh, thanks. But I need to Mt. Paozu, and I can't afford to waste any time." Said Naruto.

"Mt. Paozu? Ah, takes me back." A rather funny-looking old man and two young boys about Naruto's age entered the room. He was a bit short with a totally bald head, long white beard, and large beach sunglasses that lead Naruto to believe that meant they were so big they would make him look even funnier. "Haven't been to Mt. Paozu since I trained Gohan well over a hundred years ago."

"Who's this crazy old dude?" Naruto whispered to Gaara.

"This is Master Roshi, my father's original teacher." Gaara told him. "And he isn't crazy, he actually is more than four hundred years old."

"How do you live to be that old?"

"Not sure."

"Well enough babblin', let's get a move on." Roshi broke in.

"Hey, Master Roshi. Can we get something to eat? I'm starving!" complained one of the boys behind Roshi. He was an interesting one, Naruto thought. He had rather stylish spiky black hair and wore a very old looking blue and yellow fighting gi bound with a white sash with red wristbands and a matching headband.

"You really are just like your ancestor, you know that Goku? Roshi sighed. "What was he, your great, great, great... wait, how many greats was it?"

"Two."

"Ah, yes good ol' Goku Sr. easily my best student." Naruto looked to Gaara as if to say, 'See? I told you he was crazy.' Gaara simply shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, Please," The other boy boasted. This one was even more interesting than Goku. He had a pompous look to him that reminded Naruto heavily of his former sqaudmate and rival, Sasuke Uchiha. He wore a blue boxing shirt and shorts with white boots and gloves, his black hair standing firmly upward, and he, in Naruto's opinion, needed Goku's red headband more due to his far too prominent widow's peak. "Even though he wasn't your student Master Roshi, MY great-great grandfather was was still every bit stronger than yours, Goku."

"Would you get over yourself Vegeta?" Goku retorted, "My ancestor was the strongest in the universe, he saved the earth who knows how many times more than Vegeta Sr. in fact didn't Vegeta Sr. want earth destroyed rather than saved?"

"Would you two stop bickerin' over your ancient histories and get yer butts moving?" Roshi broke in. "Yes, sir." The two boys said together.

And so, by the start of the next day, Naruto, Roshi, and his students had finally left the Land of Wind and had been traversing The Land of Rain for some time.

"Master Roshi, can I ask you a question?" Naruto inquired.

"What is it?"

"Your students, how come they're always arguing about their how-many-great grandfathers?"

"Ah, well you see, They were named after their respective great-great grandfathers, Goku and Vegeta, who were the greatest of rivals." Roshi explained. "Vegeta was a warrior who destroyed planetary civilization after civilization for an evil alien overlord, and Goku, born Kakarot, was sent to this planet to destroy it when he was just a little baby, but he was found and raised by my old friend and former apprentice, Gohan, and so Goku's only goal in life was to protect the earth and all of her people. But when Vegeta was sent to Earth to do what Goku didn't, Their rivalry began, and even though Vegeta's hopes of destroying the earth had died with time, his stubborn will to outdo Goku didn't. If ya ask me, Goku jr and Vegeta jr are always fighting each other because their ancestors' battle never ended, and I don't think they will ever quit until it does."

"Um, okay, I can buy the whole 'ancestral rivalry' bit, but are you saying they were aliens?" Naruto asked, totally bewildered.

"Hard to believe I know," Said Roshi, "More like impossible." Naruto interrupted.

"But it's true, and those two kids carry about 1/16 of their twice-great grandfathers' alien DNA. Don't give me that 'you're just crazy' look boy, it is true. When those two fight, you'll believe me, they truly have power that's not of this world."

"Uh, Master Roshi, what should we do?" Asked Vegeta.

"'Bout what?"

"That giant wall." sure enough, there was an enormous fortress wall before them, armed to the teeth with pissed-of Stone ninja and other artillery.

"Well, they already knew we were coming, their spies have been following us since after we left Sand Village. So, Goku, Vegeta, have at 'em."

And with that Goku moved both hands to his right side, saying "Ka-me, Ha-me... Vegeta's moved both hands inward towards his chest, and said, "Galik gun..." both of the boys' hands started to glow, Goku's blue, Vegeta's purple, and, thrusting both hands forward, Goku shouted, "HAAAAAAAAAAA!" and Vegeta, "FIIRRE!" the blue and purple blasts completely obliterated the entire wall, barely even the slightest bit of debris remaining. To say that Naruto was stunned would be the understatement of a lifetime.

"I take back what I said before, old man," he said, "Those kids really are of another world." Roshi simply nodded, "Imagine what a full-blooded Saiyan could do, let alone 1/16 Saiyans."

But their troubles were far from over, for there was another fortification just waiting for them, which make the one Goku and Vegeta obliterated look weak. Upon approach, Roshi gestured Naruto and his students back, and removed his shirt. He was surprisingly skinny, absolutely no trace of fat or muscle, but that soon changed. The old man flexed both arms, and all of a sudden, the man, barely five feet tall, grew about three feet, his body gaining at least two hundred pounds of pure muscle. and in a manner similar to Goku a few minutes ago, Roshi's hands glowed bright blue as he said in a surprisingly boomy voice, "KA-ME HAA-ME... and thrusting both hands forward, shouted, "HAAAAAAAAA!" the blast of the attack decimated everything in its path, but that wasn't enough, for thousands still charged at them, some launched powerful jutsu, others brandishing weapons. And then Naruto saw him. At the front of the charging army, a man he saw before a dark tan skin tone, scars all over his arms and face, his hair long, black and shaggy, his sword, ready to strike.

"It's you!" Naruto shouted angrily, taking out Asuma's trench knives and Tenten's sword he started to change, his hair becoming ridged and feral, his nails becoming like claws, his teeth like fangs, his deep blue eyes becoming burning red with slitted pupils, fiery red chakra surrounding him, taking on the shape of a fox.

"You're the one who attacked Hinata. You'd better prepare yourself, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" And with that he charged madly at the man who simply gave a dirty grin and dodged Naruto's attacks effortlessly and in one swift, fluid motion, impaled his sword directly through Naruto's heart. Everything went silent.

Naruto awoke, his head throbbing.

"Ugh, w-where am I? Old man? Goku? Vegeta? Where is everyone? Where am I? Where's anything?" His voice echoed, which would have been impossible seeing as there didn't seem to be any walls or anything for sound to echo off of.

"I'm afraid none of them can hear you right now." Said a voice. Naruto instinctively reached for one of his weapons, but they were all gone.

"Where am I? Who the hell are you?"

"You're within you. For now, I can let you leave, there is much to discuss." The voice sounded somewhere between that of the nine-tailed fox's, which Naruto had heard at least once before, and another, unfamiliar one. From the shadows came a man tall with spiky blonde hair, he had red eyes that had slitted pupils, around his body reddish fur in a tribal tattoo pattern could be seen, his ears were more like that of a foxes than that of a person's, and, the most prominent feature of all, nine reddish brown tails. It was the Fourth Hokage. Naruto look at him, both shocked and confused.

"Who or what are you?"

"I? I am the one who assimilated the Kyubi no Kistune within you. I am also the Kyubi no Kistune himself. I am your father."

To be Continued...


	4. The Father

I am the one who assimilated the Kyubi no kitsune within you. I am also Kyubi no Kitsune itself. I am your father."

"No way! That's impossible!" Naruto denied.

"It's true, as much as I hate to admit it." Said the man before Naruto.

"IF YOU WERE MY FATHER, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN THIS WHOLE TIME!" Naruto roared angrily.

"I've been assimilated with the Kyubi." Said the man, "Has anyone ever told you what happened to the Fourth Hokage and the Kyubi no Kistune?"

"Of course, the Fourth Hokage, you, sacrificed yourself to seal that damned fox inside me."

"That's not quite it, though I'm not surprised at all that you don't know the real story. After all, the only one who does is me."

"What happened then?" Naruto conceded.

"Everyone says that I sacrificed myself to defeat Kyubi, but what I actually did was assimilate my being into his." The fourth explained, "When I did, I had a level of control over him, but not enough to completely take over. So, I used whatever power I could muster to assimilate my, our, being into my son, who was newly born into the world. You." Naruto's eyes widened.

"But then all those times I talked with the nine-tailed fox, all of the times that he lent me his power, why haven't I ever seen or heard from you?" Naruto asked.

"Like I said, I don't have much control over him. I haven't been fused with him, we aren't one being, we're two, and if anyone has control over another, Kyubi has power over me." The fourth continued. "It's been terrible, I did this so that I could save everyone and still be with you, I wanted you to have parents, to grow up like a normal boy should. I was foolish. when I merged with this damned beast, I thought I had all the power in the world over him, but then when I returned home to your mother to live in peace, with my newborn son, I lost my grip on the leash." tears started to fall silently down the man's eyes. "And this monster killed her! I had no other choice; I assimilated us with you, in hopes that you wouldn't become the monster that I had, that I could be with you." Naruto started to cry too.

"I'm sorry dad," Naruto sobbed, "I had no idea." he came closer to his father to hug him, but then,

"Aaw, what a heartfelt reunion." came a sarcastic, sadistic voice. The animalistic features of the Fourth melted off onto the ground where they reconfigured into the nine-tailed fox. "GO TO HELL, YOU DAMNED," Naruto started, rasengan in hand. The fox simply laughed its horrible, evil laugh.

"Go ahead, Naruto, kill me. PLEASE!" The fox sneered, "Just know that would hurt your father more than me."

The rasengan in Naruto's hand disappeared. "Just stay out of this. I need to speak to my son alone." Minato begged. "Suit yourself." the fox disappeared.

"Dad, I'm sorry for yelling at you before," Naruto said, tears still in his eyes. "I had no idea how much more suffering you endured than me."

"It's alright, you didn't know, but the important thing is that you don't let Hinata die." Said Minato.

"I thought that if you were alive that you would forbid me from going on this journey, because it's too much danger for a stupid myth." Naruto couldn't help but stifle a small laugh.

"No," Said Minato sternly. "I wouldn't have. I would have helped you the best I could to ensure you saved her."

"Why are you so serious about this?"

"Because your mother and I were never married. My name is Minato Namikaze, your mother's, Kushina Uzumaki. And because of my life at war, neither of us could live in peace. And I don't want you to suffer the way that we have. I want you to marry Hinata and live in peace as the sixth Hokage."

"Marry? Hinata?"

"Why not? You love her don't you?"

"No, I, she's my..."

"Tell the truth! You love her, right?" Naruto gave a heavy sigh.

"Yes, I do. I've always loved her since the day we first met in that forest when we were five."

"Well, I always loved your mother very much," Minato explained, "I wanted to be married to her so bad, but with the war at that point I couldn't, and when it was finally over, Kyubi, the creature I thought I tamed, killed her. And I couldn't forgive myself for that. I want more than anything for you and Hinata to marry, and live long and happily, something me and Kushina never did." Naruto smiled admiringly at the father he never had.

"But first, you have to save her. Because you love her, right?"

"Right."

"And you'll stop at nothing to save her right?"

"Right."

"You won't let Orochimaru or the Akatsuki stop you, will you?"

"No."

"You won't let that shaggy-haired bastard stop you, will you?"

"No!"

"You won't let the stone village stop you, will you?"

"NO!"

"You won't the world stop you, will you?"

"HELL NO!"

Minato patted his son's shoulder. "That's my boy. Remember, never give up. Trust your instincts."

"Right!"

"It's almost time."

"For what?"

"To say goodbye."

"Why?"

"Cause you can't save your little lavender in your subconscious, can you?"

"Guess not."

"Then it's time. Alright, Kyubi. I'm done."

"Thank god, I was getting nauseous from that emotional talk of yours." The fox scowled.

"GO TO HELL, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Minato made some odd hand signs and Naruto's eyes were hit by a blinding flash. A moment later, Minato appeared again, similar to how he did when he was merged with the fox.

"Naruto, I'm sorry, but this will be the last time we talk, until we pass on. I've fused with Kyubi no Kitsune, as I always should have. He is me. I am him. We are one. Now I will fuse with you, so all three of us will be one, and we can be together always, the way we should been from the beginning. As father and son. But this will be a risk, fusing three chakras together, Kyubi's especially. Whatever you do, don't use any chakra until the first tail appears." Naruto crooked a questioning eyebrow as Minato repeated the hand signs, and hugged his son in a tight embrace.

"Good bye Naruto, my son. Save Hinata. Become the Hokage. Become a hero."

"Good bye, Dad. Thank you for everything."

Those where their final words. And Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage, the golden flash, the savior of the leaf village, the Legend and his son, Naruto Uzumaki, The Legacy of the Legend, became one.


	5. The Wrath of the Dragon

Naruto awoke dazed and confused in a camp site supposedly set up by Roshi, Goku, and Vegeta. "What happened? Was that all some weird dream?" He thought to himself. He felt odd, which he credited to disorientation.

"Oh, Naruto you're okay." He heard Roshi say, though he wasn't paying much attention to him. "That sword wound was pretty bad, all that blood, uuugh. I thought it would kill you for sure."

"Sword wound?" Naruto repeated. Now that he remembered, he was impaled by the sword of Hinata's assailant, but he felt fine, at least physically. Mentally he felt as though a library's worth of information was being stuffed into his head, which felt like it would burst any moment.

"How can you forget an injury like that?" Roshi squawked, "It took us forever to find a place to hide from them buzzards. Ya ever try to hide from a village of ninjas inside of their village? It's really not... uh, eh?"

"What?" Said Naruto.

"Eh, Nothing" Said Roshi dismissively, looking away from Naruto.

Naruto walked toward a nearby stream and splashed his face with its ice cold water and shook his head vigorously. He then noticed his reflection in the stream and noticed that his hair was much longer than he remembered it being. Though still being the same spiky style, his hair was a little longer than the fourth hokage's and his facial features appeared more firm and mature.

"Could this just be a coincidence, or have I been out of it longer than I thought?" he asked himself. He then felt an irritating itch all over his arms. He pulled back a sleeve to find that rusty red fur was starting to grow there, and all over the rest of his body probably.

"Okay, that was no dream" Naruto thought. "I'm actually infused with the nine-tailed fox and my dad." He tried to test the power he probably had pent up within him, but then he heard a familiar voice echo,

"Fusing three chakras carries risk, especially Kyubi's. Whatever you do don't use any chakra until the first tail appears." Naruto understood now what he meant by that and stopped at once. He heard a noise in the distance and set off to find its source. Many people with Stone village headbands were charging in his direction and he rushed back to the campsite.

"Everyone, we gotta go!" Naruto shouted at Goku, Vegeta, and Roshi, who flinched at Naruto's shouting. "NOW!" he snapped at Roshi, who was reading the scroll marked 'hentai' Jiraiya gave him. "Stone Ninja are on their way here, let's GO!" Naruto growled, starting to get frustrated. At that, they grabbed whatever was closest to them and hauled out.

"Wait, where are we going?" Roshi asked.

"Where else? To Mt. Paozu!" Naruto replied. He understood now, that everything that his father and the nine-tailed fox knew, now he knew.

"How do you know where we're going?" Vegeta asked a hint of a scoff in his voice.

"Look, I can't explain it now, but you're just going to have to trust me." said Naruto. He felt like he knew the Land of Earth like the back of his hand.

"Stop right there!" Three stone ninja appeared from in front. Naruto dodged the first's sword, kicked the second in the face, then flung two kunai into the torsos of the first and third.

"Nice moves." Came a cold voice from behind. Naruto whirled around to see Hinata's assailant approaching, totally unarmed.

"You stay away from them kids!" Roshi barked, and charging his famous attack shouted, "KA ME HA ME..." An enormous stinger shot like a bullet straight through Roshi's heart with a sickening noise before he even had the chance to finish. Roshi fell to the ground, blood turning dark blue, and unmistakably dead. The assailant continued to stride to Naruto, shaking the dark blood off of a long, scorpion-like tail. Naruto cringed at the sight of it.

"Nice, isn't it?" The assailant continued. "This was the same tail I poisoned that little bitch with." He laughed coldly.

"That... that little bitch?" Naruto whispered, shocked. "Her name. IS HINATA!" In a burst of fury the rust-red fur all over his skin grew almost an inch long, turning an angry, fiery red, his normal ears disappeared, being replaced with fox-like ones, protruding upward slightly above the place where his normal ones used to be, his eyes turned from blue to red, his pupils becoming vertical slits, his canine teeth were now quite literally so, his finger nails became more like claws, and, most prominently, a red fox-like tail grew from the base of his spine. The assailant stared in awe at this transformation. Naruto seemed to vanish in a flash and when he reappeared, the assailant was on the ground, awe struck.

"What? Impossible!" he thought, "Nobody's ever done that to me before. And this little shit won't get another chance to!" The assailant charged at Naruto, his long scorpion tail poised to strike, but as soon as he got close enough to touch him, he was sent flying back again. This time though, the assailant felt a searing pain in his nose, which was bleeding noticeably.

"Three punches and all you got was a bloody nose?" Naruto smirked. "I'll admit, I'm impressed."

"You little... How do you figure three?" The assailant demanded. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?"

"Way I see it, a butt-ugly, scorpion-tailed freak." Naruto spat defiantly.

"You... you little shit! I am Jinchuriki of the eight-tailed scorpion, Kurodoku!" and with that, Kurodoku began to transform, black armored markings like a tribal tattoo much like the one Naruto's fur formed, his dark eyes turned a searing yellow with slitted pupils, and five more scorpion tails grew. "THE BLACK VENOM OF THE STONE!" Naruto immediately became frightened as Kurodoku struck with almost unfathomable speed, not only with his punches, but with the strikes with his venomous tails.

"Goku! Vegeta! Get outta here!" Naruto called to the two boys.

"No way. He killed our master!" Vegeta retorted.

"He'll kill you too if you don't stop being such a stubborn idiot!" Naruto yelled. "Go! Now!" Kurodoku sped toward the boys, his three tails ready to strike. Naruto had not even seconds to act.

"RASENGAN!" And with that, Naruto hit Kurodoku square in the chest with the spiraling ball of chakra, firing the dark rogue through a tree behind him.

"Not bad," Kurodoku sneered as he advanced menacingly. "But you won't get a cheap shot on me like that again." Goku and Vegeta stared terrified at the six-tailed part demon before them. "I have to give you credit, you've given me a run for my money. It's been such a long time since I've actually had to try."

"What the hell do you want from us?" Naruto demanded. "What reason do you have for attacking us?"

"Such a stupid question. Because you're my enemy, of course." Kurodoku answered. "And because you're interested in the dragon ball, and I can't get it. So, surrender, bring me the dragon ball, and help me gain what I desire, and you and your little friends will be spared. I'll even give you an antidote to save your pathetic little girl friend. Well? Wad'ya say? hm?" Naruto slammed his hand to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Seven very angry dogs appeared out of nowhere around Naruto, bearing their long sharp fangs at their adversary. "I say there's no way in hell I'll even think of negotiating with the likes of you! I say that you've sunk low enough, and I say that this is the end for you!"

"Well said kid." Came the familiar voice of Pakkun.

"Attack!" all seven of the hounds pounced upon Kurodoku, one sinking it's teeth into his arm, another tore up one of his tails with his claws, and bit into another, a third had its claws bore into his legs. Once all seven of the attack hounds had sunk their fangs or claws into a piece of Kurodoku, Naruto decided to act while he had the chance. He pulled out Asuma's trench knifes, focusing his chakra into them. They glowed a pale, violent blue, the chakra making a very sharp shape. Naruto charged at his wounded foe, but all of a sudden, Kurodoku started to melt into black, venomous sludge.

"You didn't think I would die that easy, did you?" six scorpion tails, this time from the real Kurodoku coiled around Naruto's neck, the stingers at the ends pointing menacingly at him.

"I tried to make it easy for you." said Kurodoku darkly. "But you just made it hard. Now you will die, slowly and painfully, just like that little bitch will." A loud, piercing roar came from overhead. It was a sound from the likes of which Naruto never heard. Then a long, golden serpentine dragon erupted from the distance and dropped, it's glowing gold face mere feet from Naruto and his captor. It glared angrily at Kurodoku, flaring bright blue embers from its nostrils. Then it roared in the most unusual way; to Naruto it sounded very distant, as though it were miles away, but to Kurodoku, it was deafeningly loud, and blew a gust of wind that only Kurodoku felt and was effected by, his clothing and long shaggy hair blown back powerfully. He was pushed back against a tree, Naruto now free from his grip. The Dragon advanced on Kurodoku, glaring cruelly at him.

"You can't be serious! Why the hell should I listen to a damned beast like you?" Kurodoku shouted, as though the dragon spoke to him. "Do you know who the hell I am? I am Kurodoku! The Black venom of the stone! No one and nothing can command me; I am in complete control of all!" The dragon gave a low, threatening growl.

"Like hell I will!" And with that, Kurodoku lashed at Naruto, but his stinger stopped an inch away from Naruto's face, who felt as though his heart just stopped. The Dragon had bitten hard into one of the assailant's tails, restraining him. Then it pulled him away from Naruto and blasted a jet of blindingly bright blue flame, burning the Black Venom to nothingness before he even had a chance to scream in pain.

"Uh, thank you!" Naruto said politely to the gold dragon, but it paid him no mind. It then approached Goku and Vegeta, who stared at the creature in a mix of confusion and amazement. The Dragon's brilliant blue eyes shone and the boys along with their master's corpse disappeared in a flash of light. The Dragon the came to Naruto, giving a courteous nod.

"Do you wish for me to guide you to what it is you seek?" The Dragon seemed to ask him. He understood now. The dragon was saying this through some form of telepathy, as it did with Kurodoku, and possibly with Goku and Vegeta. Naruto, lost for words at this point, simply nodded. The dragon lowered its body, and Naruto climbed onto its back. They flew far above the mountains of the stone village, and Naruto felt a cool relief fall over him as his claws retracted into normal finger nails, his fangs shortened and dulled, and his eyes returned to their normal blue. After what seemed like no time at all, the dragon landed at the top of Mt. Paozu, where it stopped and let Naruto off. It was a simple clearing with nothing but an old dried-up well and a small, battered old hut designed like a Pagoda.

"Is that were I'll find it?" Naruto asked the dragon, gesturing at the ancient hut. The dragon gave him another polite nod, and flew away into the distance, and out of sight. As he pulled the rusted doors open, a cloud of dust was kicked up, causing Naruto to cough a little. The hut looked as though somebody had lived in it long ago, but whoever it was, Naruto though, couldn't have been any older that he was, as the hut probably couldn't fit anyone a day over eighteen, given its small size. Naruto kicked up more dust still as he searched the little building, then, as the light from the setting sun past through the window of the tiny cabin, he saw the small orange ball shining in the pale glow of the sun.

"There it is!" Naruto shouted triumphantly. "The Dragon ball!"


	6. The Guardian

"Here it is!" Naruto shouted triumphantly. "The Dragon ball!" He lifted the four-stared ball from its pedestal and sat it lightly on the ground outside. Sitting down cross-legged in front of it, Naruto put both palms together, and closing his eyes said,

"Eternal Dragon, I wish that Hinata was well again. And I know I'm only allowed one wish, but can you bring Roshi back to life too? He only died to save me, and uh," He broke off awkwardly.

"Um, Eternal Dragon? I wish that Hinata was well again." Nothing happened. Naruto opened his eyes, starting to become impatient.

"I wish Hinata was well again." He repeated firmly. Again nothing happened.

"Why won't you grant my wish! ANSWER ME! What did I do wrong?" He demanded, now standing up and picking up the artifact. "Damn it, Sakura was right, it was just some stupid myth!" He threw the Dragon ball with all his strength, wishing never to have wasted his time looking for it. "The old man died for nothing, I'm some sort of mutant, and Hinata's going to die, all for nothing."

"You need seven dragon balls to get your wish." Said a voice from behind. Naruto turned to see a man clad in blue and green robes walking toward him, the Dragon ball in his hand. He was very tall and muscular with a kind face, black hair in a familiar spiky fashion, and, strangest of all, a brown monkey-like tail.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Son Goku." The man answered.

"That's impossible. I knew Son Goku, and he was only twelve, and you're..."

"Oh! You must be talking about my," Son Goku counted on his fingers, "great, great gre... wait, how many 'greats' was it again? Well anyway, I've been watching you Naruto, and I'm proud of your efforts to this point."

"If I wasted half a week to find only one out of seven, does it really matter?" Naruto brooded.

"Of course it does." Said Goku. "Look, I know why you want this, "He handed Naruto the Four-stared ball."And to acquire it is something that no ordinary person can do. I've never seen the guardian allow anyone here, let alone help them."

"That dragon!" Naruto thought, suddenly understanding. Goku could evidently read minds, because he nodded approvingly.

"And from what I've seen, you're the best person I could ever choose as my apprentice." Said Goku. "But in order to do so, I'm afraid I need to give you one more test; you have to find the rest of the Dragon balls and stop your friend from dying. Here, take this. It'll help you find the rest of the Dragon balls." he handed Naruto a small round device. Naruto observed the curious device, a white object that was shaped rather like a stop watch, but with a blank green face, like a computer screen.

"Um, what is it exactly?" He asked blankly.

"It's called the Dragon Radar." Goku explained. "Just press that button on top and it'll track the other Dragon balls, where ever they may be. He then called to the sky,"Nimbus!" And a small yellow cloud flew down from the sky, skidding to a stop right in front of Naruto, who looked at it questioningly. "This is the Flying Nimbus," Goku continued. "It can transport anyone pure of heart where ever they want."

"Look, none of this will make a difference!" Naruto shouted, feeling very frustrated with Goku. "Even if I have something to locate the balls and a way to get to them, I only have two days to find them!" He turned to see the setting sun. "Make that one and a half, if I don't sleep."

"You're right. I'm sorry. Just give me one moment." And with that, Goku put his right index and middle fingers together to his forehead and vanished from sight. Naruto, tired and confused, lay down on his back in front of the pagoda shaped-building, staring into the dragon ball. For about an hour, he reflected upon the events that led up to this point.

"Was this all for nothing?" he asked himself. "Is Hinata's death really just inevitability? Was the best that came out of this really just revenge against her assailant and, what does that weird old man mean by making me 'his apprentice?'" Just then, Goku reappeared, startling Naruto.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He said. "But here." He handed Naruto a little bottle filled with clear, royal blue liquid. "It's a remedy for poison." Goku explained, seeing Naruto's bewildered face. " It's been so long since it's been needed that I haven't made it for about seventy years, so I doubt it can fully cure your friend, but I do know that it will buy you a the very least two more weeks."

"Do you really think two more weeks will make a difference?" Naruto asked, still sulkily.

"Of course. Now you know where all the other Dragon balls are and you have the fastest ride you could ask for." Said Goku, giving a gesture to the little yellow cloud.

"Why would you want me to be your apprentice for?" Naruto asked. "What would you have to teach me?"

"To succeed me," said Goku, "As the guardian of earth." Naruto couldn't believe what he just heard. "But you have another task at hand. I promise that I will explain everything when the time comes. Now, get going." Naruto nodded and climbed with great caution onto the nimbus and sat down awkwardly.

"Sssooo, how exactly do I make this thing move?" He asked, feeling stupider by the minute.

"You just tell it where you want to go." Goku answered simply, "He'll do the rest."

Naruto turned around and asked,"And how do I..." But before he could finish his sentence, Goku had vanished. He shrugged, choosing to ask his question another day.

"Um, could you take me back to leaf village?" He asked the cloud awkwardly. With a sudden jerk, the nimbus had shot off into the distance. Naruto felt exhilarated. He had never flown in his life, and to travel this fast, he felt like he stop at the gates of the village in a matter of seconds, and that time had shot into a fast-forward. He looked below at the mountains and plains as they zoomed past, bathed in the red and gold sunset.

By night fall, the Nimbus had stopped not by the gates of the village like Naruto thought it would, but right outside the window of a tall building. He peered inside to see that it was a hospital room, all of the lights turned off, the patient fast asleep. And then he noticed that this wasn't just any random room, it was Hinata's. And there was someone else there, a man with long black hair a little past his chest, who appeared to be talking to the sleeping girl before him. Naruto couldn't hear what the man was saying, but he then saw him pull out a long, sharp knife. Naruto's heart skipped a beat, and he flung a kunai from his vest, then practically teleported right in front of the dark-haired man, batting the knife out of his hand, and clenching his hand around his throat. It was at this time that he saw just who the man was.

"You're... Hinata's father!" Naruto released his grip around Hiashi Hyuuga's neck, though he still glared angrily into his pupiless eyes. "What the hell were you about to do?" He demanded. For a long moment, Hiashi stared back at Naruto, taking in his fox-like features. "Well?"

"You look much more like Kyuubi now than ever." Hiashi remarked, in a way that was part snide, part resentment. "She may be just like you, but it's still none of your concern. Now if you don't want to get hurt, stay out of my way!" He picked up the knife and almost thrust it into Hinata's chest, when Naruto grasped his wrist very tightly, causing a sickening cracking sound.

"I don't think you're in any position to threaten me with words like those." Naruto snarled. "Now why are you trying to kill your own daughter!" Hiashi simply stepping back, holing his broken wrist, nodded curtly, then vanished. Naruto gritted his teeth furiously, and punched a large dent into the wall.

"So, you seek the truth then?" said a female voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Naruto jumped, looking around for the source of the voice. "Do you love this young one? Can her secret be safe with you?" The voice asked.

"Um, Y-yes." Naruto answered, completely confused of what was going on.

"Then come closer to us." Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"To her, of course." The voice giggled. He stood next to Hinata's bed, then pulled out the bottle of blue liquid and poured it carefully into her mouth, being careful not to spill a single drop. Almost instantly her agonized face turned calm and peaceful.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit ridiculous, as though he was talking to no one, and that the kind, caring voice was just a hallucination from stress.

"Turn her around and raise her shirt." The voice instructed. This bewildered Naruto, but he obediently turn Hinata onto her back and lifted her shirt. What he saw almost made him scream in shock. Across Hinata's back was a large sharp scar, as though created by a massive blade and a dangerous burn.

"Do you truly wish to know everything?" The voice asked.

Naruto nodded. "You have absolutely no idea how long I've been waiting to hear someone say that."

To Be Continued...


	7. The Seven Tailed Cat part I

"Do you truly wish to know everything?"

Naruto nodded. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear someone say that."

"Then I will show you." The voice said, this time sounding a bit sad and reluctant. "Press your lips to her forehead and I will show you what I can." Naruto blushed at this command.

"Jeez, first I find a scorpion-tailed freak, a golden dragon, a guy with a monkey tail claiming to be god, and then Hinata turns out to have a brutal scar I can't believe I never knew about, and now some weird disembodied voice is telling me to kiss her. I know its tempting fate, but could this day get any weirder?" Naruto thought. He then shyly kissed her on the forehead. He gasped slightly as he felt himself falling down what seemed to be a long, deep chasm. After what seemed like hours, Naruto felt a strong jerk, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of the city street, the sky bright and cloudless.

"But it's night time." Naruto thought. People everywhere were celebrating merrily, not even noticing that a fox-eared boy just dropped from the sky into the middle of the street. There were some people who Naruto didn't find familiar, people most unlike those in the leaf village, maybe it was their clothing, or their mannerisms, but even though they were joined in the festivities along with the leaf villagers, Naruto still thought these people to somehow be very out of place. He looked around, fighting his way through the massive crowds of people, which he later found to be a bit pointless; he stumbled and fell right into some very young girl, but instead of bumping into her, he past right through her, as though she were a ghost. He whipped around, starring at the little girl.

"Do you understand now?" said the mysterious voice. "This is a memory from ten years in the past." Naruto looked back to the little girl. Now he looked a little closer, seeing her ink blue hair and lavender pupiless eyes, this was unmistakably Hinata at the age of three.

"Come now Hinata. We don't want to be late." Came a kind, male voice. Naruto looked up to see a tall, gentle looking man approach the miniscule Hinata. He had pupiless eyes much like hers and long sleek black hair, and Naruto couldn't help but think that he looked familiar. "Wait, is that? Now way! It can't be!" He sputtered.

"It is." said the voice calmly. "That is indeed Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyuuga." Naruto's jaw just about dropped to the ground. "What? There's no way that gentle, happy guy is the same jackass who tried to kill Hinata a few minutes ago!" He exclaimed. "Come to think of it, how'd he get to be such a hard ass anyway?"

"That is one of the things you will soon see." The voice stated. "You will find out who I am later as well," She added. Naruto just shrugged and followed the caring man and his three-year-old daughter. They stopped in front the Hyuuga house hold. Hinata, Hiashi, someone who Naruto assumed to be Hinata's mother and a few other Hyuuga clansmen in white kimonos stood to face several other Hyuuga family members in black ones, one of which was a small boy, no older than four. Neji Hyuuga. "That's the branch family, right?" said Naruto.

"Yes. Today is the day that Hinata turned three. The day that she is declared the heiress of the main house, and the day Neji of the branch family is branded with the cursed seal." The voice replied. "Wait, I think I already know this story." said Naruto. "Neji told me all about it at the chunin exams."

"Is that so?" said the voice. "So you know what will happen to Hinata tonight?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "She gets kidnapped by that head ninja guy from the Cloud village right? But then he's killed, so the cloud village demands Hiashi's body as compensation, But the Hyuugas gave them Hiashi's brother. What was his name again?"

"Not everything you've said is true. While it is fact that the cloud village tried to steal Hinata, most of the rest of that story is a lie." The voice explained. Naruto felt another uncomfortable fall and when he landed, it was midnight and he saw a ninja sneaking about the Hyuuga household. He was hardly a pretty sight, the whole top of his head was wrapped in bandage that was red is some places with his Cloud headband worn diagonally like an eye patch across his left eye. He wore an ugly smile as he pulled out an oddly-shaped knife and used it to silently cut through a window just above him. He leapt gracefully through the new opening to a loud scream of shock. suddenly an alarm rang all over the compound and the rogue jumped back through the opening, running full force with something white under his arm. Hinata.

"Put her down!" He stopped abruptly and smirked as a woman stood before him, a sword in hand and fire in her brilliant green eyes. Naruto could immediately recognize by her ink blue hair that this was Hinata's mother. Though he could easily imagine her to be a kind and loving woman, there was nothing gentle in her face as she glared at her daughter's kidnapper, her sword gripped tightly and pointed right at his face. "I said put my daughter down!" She demanded.

"Drop your weapon." The cloud ninja ordered venomously, taking out the knife he broke in with and holding it at the young child's throat. "Unlike you, I don't need her alive. See, I've envied those lovely eyes your clan possesses, and this little tyke's eyes are just perfect to learn to replicate, so whether she lives or dies makes little difference to me."

"Mother, please help me!" Hinata cried. The cloud ninja growled in annoyance. "Shut up kid. Or are you really that eager to end your tiny, little life?" He drew the knife closer and she whimpered helplessly as blood seeped from her neck. "Enough of that!" Her mother shouted shakily, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please just give her back to me."

"First give me your weapon." The cloud ninja demanded, making a threatening gesture to Hinata with his knife. Hinata's mother shook with fear and anger. "No choice then." She whispered, tossing her sword to him. He pocketed the knife and picked up the sword. "Interesting design." He marveled, examining it. "Remarkable craftsmanship. Shut up you stupid girl!" He barked at Hinata. She was crying loudly, begging her mother for help, completely powerless. "Damn it, I warned you enough." He threw Hinata hard on the ground face down, and then slashed her deeply in the back. Her mother's mind seemed to snap "You won't get away with that." She croaked, shaking violently, tears flooding down her face. "I will never FORGIVE YOU!" Her eyes turned bright blue, and claws shot out from where finger nails used to be. Naruto's eyes widened. "Is she like me?" He thought. She disappeared and next second, she stood where the cloud ninja once did, the assailant stuck in a wall several feet away.

"That was for lying to my clan, to my people, to OUR people!" She said in a near monstrous tone. But the cloud ninja obviously didn't know what he was dealing with. "You bitch!" He spat. "How dare you do that to me, the son of the Raikage, Kei Inazuma!"

"How dare YOU set foot in my household, kidnap and murder my daughter, and betray everyone for your own greed for power!" Hinata's mother yelled. She kicked her sword back into her hand, and impaled it straight through his heart. "That was for my daughter." Within minutes, dozens of Hyuuga clansmen surrounded the area. "What happened?" "Where is the intruder?" "Is Lady Hinata alright?" Everything went dead silent as their eyes fell on the bloody corpse of Hinata. "Hitomi, w-what happened?" Asked Hiashi quietly. Hitomi, her beautiful green eyes swimming with tears, simply said, "Cloud village treaty was a lie. He wanted the Byakugan so he kidnapped Hinata and... And..." Hiashi's face sank.

"There's only one thing to do." Hitomi stated, now sounding determined. "One thing that can save our daughter." She pulled a gold-chained pendant with a royal blue gem out from under her kimono and slipped it around her poor daughter's neck. "Are you... Hitomi, no! You can't! You'll die!" Hiashi understood what she was thinking, but Naruto didn't. "I don't care. I can't just let my precious daughter's life end like this!" said Hitomi, cycling through various complex hand signs. "I'm sorry, Hiashi. Take care of Hinata for me." And with that, she and Hiashi kissed. "Good bye, Hitomi." He murmured. And with that Hitomi made a clap that echoed loudly and placed both hands on Hinata's chest. A massive beam of silvery blue light shone brightly overhead as Hinata's injuries healed and color returned to her young face, she opened her eyes to see her mother disappear before them. "Mother? Where are you?" She looked around frightened. "Father, where is she? Where is Mother?" She asked, panic stricken. Hiashi's face was sunk with grief.

"She's... gone, Hinata. She's," He gave a deep shaky breath. "She's never coming back." Hinata's eye went wide, filling with tears. She sobbed loudly, her face buried in her father's chest, Hiashi unable to do anything but hold her close. "I'm sorry Hinata." He whispered. "I'm sorry Hitomi." Hinata looked up at her father, fighting back tears to be able to talk. "What is this feeling? What's happening to me?" She wailed. Her eyes, once pale lavender, where now light blue and gave off a faint glow. "I can't tell you now." Hiashi murmured. "But you're alright now. That's all that matters." The world faded around Naruto as the memory came to an end.

"I don't understand any of this." Said Naruto, now confused and frustrated. "What just happened? What was that thing her mom did, why did Neji lie to me at the Chunin exams, and who the hell are you? What the hell is going on!"

"I'm sorry for not formally introducing myself." Came the kind female voice. "Wait, Are you her, Hinata's mom? But how?"

"No, I'm afraid I am not Hitomi Hyuuga." And before Naruto stood an odd creature. It was a brightly glowing silvery blue cat. It stood to about Naruto's waist, its eyes glowed the same color as Hinata's at the end of the memory, its fur shone gorgeously, and behind it swished seven beautiful tails. "I am the one who previously resided within her. I am Shichubi no Neko, the Seven-tailed Cat, and I have been implanted within Hinata to save her life at the expense of Hitomi's." Naruto's eyes widened.

"So it's true. Hiashi was right. She's just like me." He said. The cat nodded. "Hiashi Hyuuga loved his wife very much. In a way, he blames his daughter for what happened to her, and his twin brother." She explained. "And that's another thing." Naruto replied. "I didn't see anything having to do with his twin, what was that about?"

"What Neji told you wasn't entirely true. He wasn't killed by the Hyuugas for the Inazumas' personal gain," The seven-tails explained. "Within the same week, The Hyuuga compound was attacked by the Inazumas again, this time they killed Hizashi, thinking he was Hiashi, but because of the cursed seal's effect, his Byakugan was decimated. A controversy spread throughout both the leaf and cloud villages, and in the end, for the sake of the safety and security of their villages, the Hokage declared that the Raikage and his clan, the Inazumas were permanently banished from the leaf village.

"That doesn't explain why Neji lied to me at the Chunin exams." Said Naruto. "He didn't. What he told you was what he believed to be the truth. To ensure security, the Hyuuga clan was told never to reveal the truth about what happen on that night." The seven tails went on. "So what Neji told you that day was the truth, or at least what he believed the truth to be." Then another came to Naruto's mind. "You said that Hiashi hates Hinata because she blames her for his wife's death, but in the memory, it looked more like he would have more reason to protect her then harm her." He said. "I just don't get any of this."

"I don't blame you. It is quite complicated." The seven tails answered. "I think it is easier to show you than to tell you." Once again, Naruto felt the uncomfortable feeling of falling down an endless hole, and the jerking feeling when it stopped. They were back at the Hyuuga compound, one year later, according to the Seven tails, just outside what seemed to be a dojo, where Naruto saw the minute Hinata and her father instructing her. "Hinata, maybe you do not wish to fight?" Hiashi said calmly to Hinata, who was seemed exhausted, resting on her knees. "No father." She said, in a surprisingly firm way. "Mother gave her life for mine, so I can't give up, or I would be insulting her memory." Hiashi looked at her very surprised at her maturity. He smiled, and offered her a hand to help her up. She pushed it away and stood on her own, and they proceeded to spar. "I still don't understand. It still seems as though he still wants her." Naruto commented. They skipped forward about one year, and everything changed. Though only one year was skipped, Hiashi looked considerably older and wore his infamous scowl. Hinata, now five years old, was sprawled out on the floor, covered in bruises and scrapes.

"You're still too weak!" Hiashi barked at her. "You have made no progress since we started, and right now, all you are is an insult to your mother's memory!" Hinata looked up shakily, tears in her eyes. Hiashi gritted his teeth in anger and kicked Hinata away from him. "Get Up!" He demanded. "And stop crying! All you are doing by crying is showing just how weak you truly are! Get up! NOW!" When Hinata tried with all her might to stand up, she merely fell under her own weight. "Get her out of my sight!" Hiashi growled at two Hyuuga clansmen. They lifted Hinata by her arms and threw her hard into her room, where she fell to the floor, still silently crying.

"That's just terrible!" Said Naruto, now so angry that tears fell from his face. "Why would he do that to her?"

"Even I cannot be completely sure, but Hiashi is disappointed with Hinata." The Seven tails explained. "You know how the Hyuugas are. Strong believers in destiny and fatalism. He believes that since she did not live up to his high expectations, that she is a lost cause. What's worse, because he, like you know all too well, fears and despises her for being a Jinchuriki."

"Wait, she's a what?" Asked Naruto. "A Jinchuriki. It means that she's a carrier of one of the tailed beasts. Like you." Said the seven tails. "But the six and nine tails are so brutal and cruel." said Naruto. "Why do you seem so nice?"

"You've met Kurodoku?" The seven tails said, surprised. "While it's true that they are known to be cruel and inconsiderate of others, that is because they have been in the worst of hands," The seven tails explained. "The six tailed scorpion was forced by corrupt men in the stone village to do their dirty work, even fused by dark means with Kurodoku, and the nine tailed fox was... I don't really know how to say it... tampered." Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean, 'tampered?'" he asked.

"The nine tailed fox used to be a pleasant being, much as you think I am, but someone - and please do not ask, I have no idea who - corrupted him. Manipulated him. I do not know how or why, but it's the reason why he tried to destroy the leaf village thirteen years ago." Naruto's mouth fell open at this revelation. "I was raised by Hitomi Hyuuga, or as she was then known, Hitomi Yuhi, since I was only a kitten, and despite my power, she never used me or let me be used by anyone as a weapon. I do not know what the tailed beasts are or where and how we came into being, but each was used by whoever found them for strength and power. After the Third Great War, when word had gotten around through the five great nations, the tailed beasts were sealed against their and their hosts' will. It felt hard being sealed within the one who raised me since youth. What felt even worse was not just saying good-bye to Hitomi, but that I couldn't do anything for her daughter. Look." Naruto turned back to the young Hinata, still crying on the floor.

Suddenly, her bruises and injuries healed, the young girl sitting up, astonished. "What?" She looked around her room, hoping to see who or what had healed her. "Are you alright, little one?" came a gentle voice Naruto immediately recognized. Hinata winced, standing up very fast. "Who is that? Where are you?" She asked, very scared. "Do not be afraid little one." said the voice gently. "I am your friend. Your guide in spirit." Hinata's face rose slightly. "M-my, my guide in spirit?" She repeated. "Yes. I am known as the seven tailed cat. You may call me Ren." Hinata smiled slightly, wiping her tears away. "So where are you Ren?" She asked. "I am within you, little one." Said Ren. "Please do not fear of me, I couldn't..."

"I don't fear you at all, Ren." Hinata said cheerfully. "I am not perfect, but I hope you will learn to accept me as your friend."

"I do accept you as a friend, little one." Said Ren soothingly. "Please call me Hinata, Ren." Hinata giggled.

"I can't tell if her life was better or worse than mine was." said Naruto, confused. "I mean, Hinata lived with a family that regarded her as garbage for reasons beyond her control. Not being strong enough to live up to Hiashi's expectations, being a Jinchuriki, but she also had you, a friend who cared about her deeply."

"The life of a Jinchuriki is never easy, as you well know, Naruto." Said Ren grimly. "Some things in Hinata's life you best not know about." Several quick flashes past through Naruto's mind, flashes of terrible memories from her past. He saw even though from the briefest of glances Hinata being hit repeatedly by Hiashi with a boken, being yelled at for crying and being weak, and a few others too dark to even mention. "About a year later, Hiashi had decided Hinata was unworthy of even being a member of the Hyuuga clan, so he... he disowned her." Ren continued. Naruto felt yet another dreadful falling feeling.

"I really wish there was an easier way for you to do that!" Naruto moaned, covering his mouth firmly, trying to resist the urge to throw up. But this feeling was cut short when he heard a loud scream come from the Hyuuga house. He look inside and saw to his horror Hinata face-down on the floor a Hyuuga clansmen with his foot pressed firmly on top of her back. Hiashi glowered at her as he drew the familiar sword of Hitomi Hyuuga. "That son of a BITCH!" Naruto growled. "This is how he disowns her! By killing her! With his wife's sword!" Hiashi raised the blade then chopped straight down, Hinata closing her already teary eyes, stricken with panic. A short silence. Then she opened her eyes to see a woman crouched in front of her, her hands clapped on both sides of the sword. "Kurenai! How dare you!" Hiashi roared. "I should be the one saying that! How could you do this to an innocent little girl!" Kurenai retorted. She jerked the sword out of Hiashi's hands and sheathed it. "I'm taking this sword. Even in death, it belongs to my sister. And I'm taking her with me." She stated firmly, nodding towards Hinata. "What? You bitch! You dare steal from me!" Hiashi yelled a somewhat manic look in his eyes.

"I'm not stealing. I'm taking back what's rightfully my sister's." Kurenai stated coolly. She pulled Hinata up to her feet, gave Hiashi one last glare, and vanished.

"Sister? Kurenai and Hinata's mom are sisters!" Naruto said aghast. "They don't even look anything alike!"

Kurenai and Hinata reappeared at a place that seemed to be Kurenai's home. "Hinata. I'm sorry for what happened to you back there. But you're safe now. You're living with me now." Kurenai said comfortingly to the still crying child. "Who are you?" Hinata asked. "Are you Ren?" Kurenai gave a look between amusement and confusion. "I'm Kurenai Yuhi, your aunt." Hinata simply hugged her savior. "Thank you." She said through sobs.

**This chapter was written in memory (?) of ~Fatal-Impulse, a brilliant fanfiction writer on Deviantart, who has seemingly disappeared for the last three years. It's unknown whether he indeed died, quit deviantart, or what, nobody seems to know, but parts of this chapter, including the seven tailed cat were written in tribute of his work.**


	8. The Seven Tailed Cat part II

Naruto watched as the vision of Hinata crying into Kurenai's chest faded. "So that's it." Naruto muttered.

"I'm very sorry." The voice of the seven tailed cat rang, sounding very regretful. "Everything bad that's happened to Hinata has been my fault."

"Knock it off." Naruto retorted. "None of this is your fault. You can't blame yourself for any of this. It was that cloud village bastard who ruined her life, not you." A sudden thought occurred to Naruto, which overcame him like an electric shock. "Wait! That sword!" He pulled out his own and examined it. The seven tails gasped and her image appeared before Naruto. "That's Hitomi's sword!" She breathed. "Where did you get it? I have to know!"

"A friend of mine, Tenten, gave it to me. Why?" said Naruto. "Hang on. How did she get this sword? Didn't Kurenai take it back from Hiashi?"

"Yes, but it was lost a few years later." The seven tails explained. "I don't know who stole it or how they could have done so, but it doesn't matter now." A sudden lurch and Naruto was returned to the real world. "Let me have it back now, Naruto." Her voice echoed, and Hinata suddenly sat up and got out of her bed. "Hinata? How are you able to…?" Hinata was different now, though. Her eyes faintly glowed a pale blue, and her ears were gone, replaced with a pair of cat-like ears protruding from the top of her head, lines of silvery blue fur crawled around her body, and seven long cat-like tails sprouted into life.

"Naruto. You've saved me. Thank you so much!" Hinata muttered happily, but Naruto noticed her voice was off. It was Hinata's voice, but it sounded warped, as though she were being controlled. She reached to Naruto's side and pulled out the sword, and then pointed it at her chest. "Hinata! What are you doing!" Naruto asked, a mixture of demand and panic in his voice. "Thank you, Naruto. Now I can relieve myself of the curse that the seven tailed cat placed upon me." Said Hinata. She brought the blade close to her skin, as though ready to cut it open. "Don't do it, Hinata." Said Naruto firmly. Hinata lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach, and then made to slash herself open.

"NO!" Naruto shouted, and in a strong surge, his fur brightened, his eyes became fiery red and his pupils became slitted, his nails became claws, his teeth became fangs, and a second red fox-like tail generated itself near the first. He made to wrench the sword from Hinata's hands, but she was stronger. Naruto worked the sword from her hand, but she easily threw him off and kicked the sword back into her hand.

"Don't interfere!" Hinata's warped voice rang sharply. "This is something I must do. The seven tailed beast must be removed from my body. It is the true source of all my pain." Naruto's eyes widened as a revelation dawned upon him. Hinata would never act like this. She loved the Seven Tails, she knew it by a name; Ren, she would never have called her a beast.

"You're not Hinata!" Naruto growled. "The Hinata I knew would never take her own life! She wouldn't call the seven tails a beast. She never hated you, Ren! Not for a second!"

"I'm not taking her life." Said Hinata, though her voice was now entirely that of the seven tails. "I am using Tamashi no Kiri to remove my soul from Hinata's. That was how I cursed her, and that is how I will free her from me. This blade was forged from a chakra-infused mineral that was used to put me in the body of Hitomi Hyuuga. I aim not to harm Hinata, but to free her from more pain that I cause her."

"That's insane!" Naruto burst out. "Do you have any idea what you mean to her? Do you have any idea what will happen to you if you try to cut yourself out of her? Even if you don't mutilate her by severing yourself from her with that sword, have you ever considered her feelings? Did she ever want you two to be cut apart? You're her guide in spirit for god's sake! You're Ren! Hinata's guide in spirit!" The cat, posing as Hinata, stared disbelievingly at Naruto. She dropped the sword, which hit the ground with a clatter. She fell to her knees and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry Hinata. I'm so, so sorry. I never meant to. I never wanted this for you."

"Don't blame yourself about it. It's not your fault." Said Naruto calmly. "Can I call you Ren?"

"You may." Hinata's head nodded. "Ren, can I… No, can we both speak to Hinata?" Suddenly, the icy blue fur, cat ears, and tails receded and Hinata became her normal self. The image of the seven tailed cat sat next to her.

"Huh? Where am I?" Hinata asked quietly to herself, looking around. She then noticed Naruto, whose eyes, nails and teeth returned to normal and squealed. "Ah! N-n-Naruto! What's going on?" Naruto just grinned weakly and gestured to the silvery blue cat next to them. "Someone wants to speak to you." He said simply. Hinata saw the silvery blue cat and reached out carefully to touch it. "R-Ren?" She said bewildered. Ren nodded. Hinata made to pet Ren, but her hand passed right through her. "I am not the true Ren, little one. Only an image of her." Ren told her. "You're… you're so beautiful." Hinata breathed. She then noticed a tear fall down the cat's face. "What is the matter, Ren?" She asked tentatively, kneeling down and placed her hands lovingly to Ren's intangible face.

"It's all my fault." Ren said sorrowfully. "Everything that's happened to you has all been my fault."

"That's not true, Ren." Hinata assured her. "I have been the reason for your suffering every since your birth."

"That isn't true, Ren. Don't say things like that."

"No matter how I appear, I'm just a beast, hated by all."

"You're no monster. You can't be. You're my guide in spirit."

"And because I'm one with you, I'm the reason that you have been hated and disowned by your father."

"Stop saying things like that Ren. It's not true at all."

"I never should have existed. All I have ever done is ruin your life…"

"REN! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT EVER AGAIN!" Hinata shouted in an uncharacteristically sharp tone. Ren stared up at Hinata incredulously. "You are the reason I was able to pick myself up and keep moving when father was most angry at me. You always healed me, you always made me feel at ease when I was sad, or hurting, or scared. I am grateful for what my mother did for me, and I'm equally grateful for you, Ren. If you hadn't been there for me, I don't even want to think of what I might have done."

"But it's because of me that your father hated you." Ren insisted. "I'm the reason for…"

"I never would have made father proud to call me his daughter, whether you were with me or not. You're the reason I've made it as far as I have. So don't blame yourself for what happened to me ever again. Please, just promise me that you'll be there for me when I need you."

"Of course, little one." said Ren apologetically. "I'm sorry." Hinata looked up to Naruto and noticed his strange ears and tails. "Naruto? What happened to you? You seem… different." Naruto looked uneasy for a moment, then told her, "Have you ever heard of the tailed beasts?" Hinata nodded slightly. "Kurenai-sensei told me about them once when I was little. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you know all about the story of the Nine-tailed Fox, right?" Naruto continued. "Yes. The fox was destroyed because of a sacrifice made by the Fourth Hokage. Why are you asking me these things?" Hinata asked.

"Well, the story the village was told isn't entirely true." Naruto told her nervously. "Nobody knows the entire true story anymore except me. What really happened was the Fourth Hokage assimilated the fox into his own being." Hinata seemed confused, but let Naruto continue. "But he didn't have any control over the beast, to the point that it even killed the one he loved most. Because he couldn't control the fox, he sealed himself and the nine tails within… Within me." Hinata gasped. "With the fox sealed away within me, he was able to keep the nine tails under control. But more recently, he's fused the fox and himself with me."

"So that's why…" Hinata breathed. She remembered when they were only little children. She had seen Naruto be insulted, attacked, and mistreated for years. _"Why does that wretched kid still exist? That disgusting beast! Why won't he just drop dead!" _Hinata had heard things like these said about Naruto forever. She remembered once seeing four men, all jounin, gang up on Naruto, beating him up, knocking him to the ground and kicking and stomping on him. They were never told to stop and they never punished for their actions.

"_They're right. Why am I still alive if all I do is make people hate me?" Naruto asked himself when he was alone. He punched his fist into a tree repeatedly. His knuckles bled and bruised, but he didn't care. He was used to pain like this. Then he screamed so loudly that animals within a mile scurried away, "JUST DIEEEE!" He found a kunai, obviously dropped by one of the Jounin who were beating him up earlier. He picked it up, tested the point, and then made to stab himself in the heart. "STOP IT!" Naruto whipped his head around in surprise to see Hinata on her knees, crying her heart out. "Don't do that! Please just… just don't." She begged in a shaky voice. "Don't ever give up on life. You never did anything wrong to deserve this. I don't understand why grown-ups hate you, but don't throw your life away like this."_

Hinata walked staggeringly to Naruto and held him tightly, her face buried in his chest. And Naruto could hear her sobbing.

"Hinata. Do you hate me?" Naruto asked her. Hinata looked up to him. "Of course not. I could never hate you for what you are. You've never deserved to be hated. Not by me and not by anyone the village." She sobbed. "You have one too. A guide in spirit. You're just like me. If you don't hate me for what I am, then I don't hate you for what you are." Naruto held her closer. "You know, you always end up crying long before I even have the chance to feel sad." He said with a weak smile. "Thank you, Hinata."

"Thank you, Naruto." said Hinata. She moved closer still to Naruto, wanting to kiss him, but suddenly, she moaned and slapped a hand to the arm with the gash that was still a dark blue. She seemed agonized, falling to the floor, writhing in pain for a moment, then fainting. "Hinata!" Naruto yelled.

"She's going to make it." Ren's voice could be heard. "I used my power to heal her body enough to move again, but now the effect is wearing off."

"Is she going to be okay?" Naruto asked urgently. "If I stay here and tend to her, yes. She'll be okay." Said Ren. "Find the Dragon balls. Save Hinata." Naruto nodded. "Of course I will." He said. "Just tend to her. Don't let her suffer."

"Yes." Said Ren. "And Ren," Naruto added. "Thank you for caring for Hinata all this time." And with that, he placed Hinata back in her bed, kissed her on the cheek, said, "Don't worry. I'll be back soon.", hopped onto the Nimbus waiting outside the window, and set off in search of the dragon balls.

**Sorry if this chapter seems rushed or poorly written. I've just had a serious case of writer's block with this story. I may have to go back and clean up later on down the road.** **Now that all the drama and exposition is out of the way, next chapter will be where the story really gets rolling. See you then!**


	9. The Eight Tailed Serpent

"Naruto! Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto looked down at the village. Someone was calling his name. As he looked ahead, he saw Kurenai standing on top of the Leaf Village gates, waving to him. He lowered his altitude slightly and hoped off the flying cloud onto the wall. "Kurenai-sensei? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Ren told me everything. As soon as I heard, I thought I'd like to come with you." Kurenai smiled. "Ren? You mean the Seven-tailed Cat Ren?" asked Naruto blankly. Kurenai nodded. "But how could you have spoke with her? I was with her and Hinata all night."

"I have an ability to communicate with Ren. Something my sister taught me." Kurenai answered, a weak smile on her face. "Did you say you wanted to come with me?" said Naruto, not sure if what her heard was correct. "That's right. As Hinata's aunt and godmother, saving her life is as big a priority to me as it is to you." Kurenai declared.

"Well, okay. But I'm not sure in the Nimbus would accept you." said Naruto. "If it can't then please understand that I can't take you with me." Kurenai eyed the yellow cloud, and then stepped carefully onto it. She stood quite steadily on top of it. "Alright. Let's go." said Naruto brightly and the Nimbus took off into the horizon.

"Thank you, Naruto. You have no idea what this means to me." said Kurenai as they flew high over the landscape of the Land of Fire. "So what is it that you're searching for exactly?"

"Dragon Balls." Naruto answered.

"I didn't even know dragons had these." She remarked, an eyebrow raised. "What? No, these things." said Naruto, handing Kurenai the four-stared ball. "Oh. I thought you were talking about a dragon's actual… uh, forget it."

They traveled in silence for the next hour or so, until a number of burning questions came to Kurenai. "What exactly are dragon balls and how are we supposed to find them? And where did you get this weird cloud thing?"

"I don't know precisely what the Dragon Balls are, but there are seven of them, counting the one I have now, and when they're all brought together, they can grant you any wish you want." Naruto explained. "And I have this to find them with." He showed her the dragon radar. "It can track all of the dragon balls, no matter where they may be." He looked curiously at the face of the radar. "that's odd. It's saying there are two right here. But I only have one." He tapped the screen with the back of his finger. "Well, he did say this thing's old. "Oh!" Kurenai exclaimed. She dug through her pockets and pulled out, to Naruto's surprise, a second dragon ball, this one with seven stars.

"It used to belong to Hitomi. I've always held onto it since her passing." She said. "Even though I know she's been long gone from this world, I feel like she's right by my side whenever I have this with me."

"So that means we have two of them now." said Naruto. He peeked at the radar. There were two signals on the screen that were very close together.

"And we're about to get our hands on two more." He grinned, showing Kurenai the radar. They landed in a flat, rocky area near the reading's location. "We should be right on top of them." said Naruto, looking around. "Could they be underground?" Kurenai suggested.

"Well, it seems they found us." said Orochimaru silkily. "What a brilliant strategy, Kabuto. Using the dragon balls as bait for the fox boy."

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru." said Kabuto, bowing slightly. "Shall I take care of him then?"

"Back off him!" Came a sharp voice from behind. Kabuto whipped around to see a boy about the age of thirteen striding down the corridor. "He's mine." Orochimaru grinned. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but not now." He said. "I'm fighting him, whether you want me to or not." Sasuke growled defiantly. "I have a score to settle."

"You insolent…!" Kabuto growled, gritting his teeth, but Orochimaru didn't seem to mind at all. "You may fight him all you want, Sasuke." He said smoothly. "But not now. Kabuto. Here." He took a small knife, slashed a long, thin line down his left forearm, and blood seeped out from the fresh cut. He then took a thin slip of paper with some ancient runes inked upon it and wiped the blood off on it. The runes glowed bright red and a dash appeared in the center of the paper. "Only one tail?" said Kabuto, giving a forced chuckle. "Do you still not trust me enough to use even one more?"

"I would trust you enough with all eight, Kabuto. But that would be a waste of power in this particular case." Orochimaru grinned. He applied the seal horizontally across Kabuto's forehead and his eyes became very thin and turned yellow, the pupils elongating into slits. He grinned sinisterly. "This will only take a moment." He said, leaping up and passing through the ceiling.

"They couldn't be above us, could they?" Naruto asked meanwhile on the surface. "Not likely, but possible." said Kurenai, as she turned over rocks. As she turned over a particularly large stone, she screamed. Where there should have been normal earth, there was a human face, grinning evilly, with yellow snake-like eyes and thin, sharp fangs for teeth. The face protruded from the ground on a long snake-like body, which molded to form someone quite familiar.

"Kabuto!" Naruto exclaimed. "Well, Naruto. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" said Kabuto coolly. "Not long enough." Naruto retorted sharply, gritting his teeth.

"Still all talk, aren't we?" Naruto flinched. Kabuto was standing right behind him. He drew his sword and swung at Kabuto, but he dodged it effortlessly. His finger nails turned to claws and his teeth to fangs, his eyes became bright red with slitted pupils. He slashed at Kabuto again and again, but he only dodged every time. "Gotcha!" He shouted. He had sliced Kabuto right in half, but he still continued to smirk arrogantly. In a matter of seconds, he regenerated his dismembered lower half.

"Still no regard for strategy in battle, either." He taunted. Naruto growled in frustration. "I thought it was going to be a challenge to steal this from you." He added, throwing the four-star dragon ball up and down tauntingly in his hand. Naruto gasped. He checked the pocket that he stored his dragon ball in, but it was empty. "What a disappointment." Kabuto sighed. "You have such potential, yet you waste it all screaming and preaching your arrogance." He cleared his through and said in a high-pitched mocking imitation of Naruto's voice, "'You can't beat me, because one day, I'll become hokage, even if it means being a genin my whole life!'"

Naruto had officially had it. He dashed at Kabuto with such speed that Kabuto didn't even realize he had his face planted into the ground until Naruto growled, "Shut up! You don't understand anything about me or the potential I possess!"

"Is that really Naruto?" Kurenai though as she stared at him. Kabuto stood back up, nudging his glasses back up. "Not bad. But it's still nothing but brute force." He said plainly. "And you need more than that…" His body became dark and scaly, a reptilian tail protruding from behind. "…to even have a hope of defeating me!"

"Kurodoku!" Naruto blurted out. Kabuto laughed. "So you've met Kurodoku then?" He said. "No, not quite. But I am a Jinchuriki of the eight-tailed serpent."

"Naruto, Hand me the sword!" Kurenai shouted. "Why?" Naruto asked. "Just do it!" Kurenai shouted firmly. Naruto threw her the sword, but Kabuto lashed between them and snagged it.

"Nice try, but whatever you're planning won't work!" he said, looked at the sword with interest. "Ah, I thought this blade seemed familiar." He said interestedly. "Tamashi no Kiri. The one and only bane of the Tailed Beasts. You do know what it means, now that I possess it, right?" Naruto didn't have much time to think, but he was suddenly reminded of the Seven Tailed Cat, who wanted to use the very same blade to free herself from Hinata. "That's right." Said Kabuto silkily. "It means that now I have the advantage." He ran his tongue up the blade from the hilt.

"You see, this sword was crafted for the sole purpose of sealing and unsealing the tailed beasts from their Jinchuriki." Kabuto explained. "So, should I choose to, I could rip the Nine Tailed Fox from your body with a single stroke. And tell me something, do you know what happens when a beast is extracted from its host so quickly?"

"They die." Naruto muttered, remembering the vision of Hitomi Hyuuga. "That's right. And without this, you're nothing." said Kabuto. He made a swipe at Naruto's chest. "And you will die as nothing!" A hand clasped around the blade, blood pouring from it.

"You think I'm nothing without this sword?" Naruto growled coolly, his hand tightening around the sharp blade's edge. "You think I'm just a weak little clown? That I never think anything through? That I'm worthless genin trash?" He pulled hard and the sword was sent flying from Kabuto's grip, spinning very high and fast in the air. "All you ever do is belittle and underestimate me for what you think are my weaknesses. And I won't stand for it! Not anymore! You say that you have no weaknesses, but all you do by poking fun at my 'weaknesses' is flaunting your own!" He slashed Kabuto's face with his claws, breaking his glasses to pieces.

"But how! You should have died when the blade cut you!" Kabuto spat. "I don't know how you gained so much knowledge about me this whole time, but something you should have figured out by now is that the Nine Tailed Fox and I are now one!" Naruto growled, wiping the blood from his hand, which healed quickly without a trace of a scar or gash. "There's a lot you don't know about me now, Kabuto! And what you don't know WILL hurt you." Kabuto's arms were restrained by a pair of Shadow Clones. He struggled pointlessly. "Big shocker. It's not like I've never seen you use this jutsu before." Kabuto spat sarcastically.

"I'd rather save my best tricks for another day." said Naruto. "So what now? Rasengan?" Kabuto retorted. His arms lit with razor sharp chakra, making the clones restraining him vanish. Naruto charged at him, having just finished forming his signature finishing move. "Don't bother." Kabuto sighed, catching Naruto by the arm holding the Rasengan, which instantly faded away. "That jutsu is a joke. It may be powerful, but the time it takes to build up is slower than the attack itself!" He yanked Naruto in front of him, released his arm, and caught him by one of the tails, pulling on it hard, much to Naruto's pain. "Don't give me that bull about not knowing your weaknesses. What I don't know, I soon find out." Kabuto sneered, pulling harder on both of Naruto's tails.

"You talk too much!" Kurenai screamed, and much to Kabuto's shock, she slashed him across the back. He released his grip on Naruto and screamed in pain as what seemed to be black smoke issued from the gash on his back. His eyes, fangs, and skin returned to normal.

"Damn! How could I have forgotten about her!" He muttered to himself. He was half way through the cycle of hand signs for his Feather Illusion Jutsu, when a loud voice shouted, "Rasengan!" The spiraling blue ball of pure chakra hit him square in the chest, sending him spinning off into the distance. "Thanks, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto panted.

"No problem." Said Kurenai, sheathing the sword. "I just wish he had one of the dragon balls on him."

"Uh, Kurenai-sensei? What's that?" Naruto asked, pointing at a bizarre creature slithering slowly away. Kurenai tried to stab it, but it receded into the ground and out of sight. "What was that?" Naruto repeated. "A fragment of the eight tailed serpent." Kurenai answered. "Kabuto wasn't the real Jinchuriki of the serpent; he was only borrowing a piece of its power. From Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru!" Naruto repeated. "He's a… a Jinchuriki!" Kurenai nodded. "Yes, and I'll bet anything that he's the one with the two dragon balls we picked up earlier." She said.

"Well, now. It seems they've caught on to our little game." Orochimaru chuckled coolly.

"Kabuto was an idiot to underestimate Naruto." Sasuke grunted. "Someone with his brains should know better. So what now?"

"We shall relocate to a new facility." Orochimaru answered simply. "One I'm sure you may find satisfactory."

"Why's that?" asked Sasuke. "Because this one is near where Itachi was last spotted." Orochimaru told him, an evil grin across his face. "In that case, let's go." Sasuke sneered. "But first, let me see just how strong Naruto has gotten."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Orochimaru asked silkily. "How else?" Sasuke retorted, reaching up and catching a pale grey snake-like creature, which fell from the earthy ceiling and bit his thumb, which bled slightly. He then placed the snake-like creature up to the cut and it was siphoned into his body through the cut. Orochimaru grinned sinisterly. "I like the way you think, boy." He said, taking his knife, cutting himself again, and wiping the blood with a paper slip, this time three dashes lining the center of the slip.

"Four tails?" said Sasuke blankly. "I only gave Kabuto the one to test the fox boy's strength. But I can trust you to eliminate him."

"You… trust me?" Sasuke repeated. "Yes." Orochimaru replied. "I would have to now, wouldn't I? After all you are the one who will later become my vessel. "That's right." said Sasuke, sneering. He put the slip horizontally across Orochimaru's forehead, returning the power to his body and drew his sword. Orochimaru blinked curiously at him.

"Bad move." sneered Sasuke. He thrust his blade all the way through Orochimaru's chest, killing him. "Now I'm the one in power." He said sinisterly. A thick black smoke issued from Orochimaru's eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears, which formed itself into a dark human figure. Its skin was chalk white, its eyes were bright yellow and reptilian, its head completely hairless, its face flat, sinister, noseless, earless, and lipless, its body thin and smooth with reptilian scales, eight long snake-like tails protruding from its back.

"So, you are Sasuke Uchiha, the boy who set me free?" It said, its voice low and raspy, like a snake's. Sasuke simply nodded. "And you are Orochi, the Eight Tailed Serpent." He replied.

"In the flesh." Orochi hissed, a hint of a laugh in his raspy voice. "I must give you my thanks for releasing me from that fool, Orochimaru. He is a mockery to my name, trapping me within him, of all people."

"What business do you have with me?" Sasuke asked firmly. Orochi gave him a look of pleasant surprise. "You don't seem to care who you talk to in such rude tones." He said, amused. "I wish to empower you, Sasuke Uchiha. To make you my new Jinchuriki."

"I was under the impression that you hated being looked up within another human." said Sasuke flatly. "Locked up? Yes." Orochi hissed. "Cooperating? No. What I wish is not for me to be locked within you as I was with Orochimaru, but to exist with you as one. Together, there is nothing that we cannot do."

"Why should I trust you?" Sasuke asked sharply. "I'm not stupid. I know that Orochi, the Eight Tailed Serpent, is a master of deception. Show me why I should trust you with my power, why I shouldn't destroy you here and now!" Orochi gave a small hiss of a laugh. "Don't think I don't know how to dispose of you." Sasuke spoke up angrily. "I've learned from my time with your host your weaknesses and limitations!"

"That is true." said Orochi silkily. "And it is for that very reason why I will not even consider taking you over. You know all my weaknesses."

"Including your cowardly fear of death." Sasuke added fiercely. Orochi laughed. "Exactly. So, will you have me join you, Sasuke?" Sasuke whipped out his blade and pointed it with shocking speed and precision at Orochi's chest. "Before I answer, and tell me truthfully Orochi, how will you and I be joined?" Sasuke demanded. Orochi laughed again.

"No fool, are you?" He said. "First off, I will only be sealed loosely within you. I will be hidden away in your subconscious and you are free to use all of my powers as you see fit. You will be in complete control of me. That's all there is to it." Sasuke considered for a moment, then…

"Consider yourself my slave." said Sasuke. Orochi's body dissolved into black smoke, which billowed over to Sasuke and entered his body through the same orifices it left Orochimaru's. Sasuke felt nauseated as the black smoke streamed into his body. It was very hard to breath and the bodily intrusion was overwhelming. Finally, the rushing smoke came to a stop, and Sasuke's metamorphosis was complete.

His once black eyes were now Orochi's yellow reptilian ones, his already pale skin was now almost perfectly white, and he felt eight tails grow out of the base of his spin. "Can I make those go away?" he thought to himself. "Of course." The familiar hissing voice of Orochi rang in his head. "You have full control over all my powers, remember?"

Sasuke stared blankly at his hands, as though expecting them to transform. "This power." He said to himself. "It's… overwhelming." He grinned with satisfaction. "I like it!"

"So, where to? Itachi?" Orochi asked. "Maybe later, but first I need to test my new power." Sasuke answered. "On whom?" asked Orochi. "Who do you think?" Sasuke retorted.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

**To be continued….**

**On a side note, I would like to say that, no, I am not being unimaginative with the Eight Tailed Serpent's name. Orochi was the name of a demonic eight-headed serpent in Japanese mythology, whom this tailed beast is loosely based upon. As I may note in a later chapter, Orochimaru was a name that he gave himself out of the arrogant pride he took in controlling the eight tails. **

**God, I love writing my own canon! **

**Next chapter, you can be sure there will be quite the battle between Naruto and Sasuke, Fox and Serpent, Friend and Foe. You can't miss it.**

**See you then!**


	10. The Reunion

"He should be around here somewhere." Orochi whispered in Sasuke's mind as he waded through a field of very tall grass.

"So what exactly was your standing with Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked in his mind. He felt strange talking out loud to the eight-tailed serpent within him.

"I had little tolerance for that arrogant brat." said Orochi simply. "Did you know that wasn't even his real name? When I was implanted in that bastard, he arrogantly changed his name because he took such idiotic pride in being my jinchuriki. I've been waiting for years for another, more suitable person to inhabit."

"So that you can take control of them and become more powerful than before?" Sasuke mentally projected.

"In a way." Orochi conceded. "But more specifically, one like you. One who wants my power not to satisfy his own desires and grow drunk on, but who needs my power for a real purpose. And what better purpose than for vengeance."

"So what will you do once I've claimed my revenge?"

"He's close." said Orochi. "Approximately a kilometer away."

"Anywhere in this field?"

"No, but just outside it. This is a perfect place for an ambush."

"I like the way you think." Sasuke smirked. "And now we wait."

"Now we wait." Orochi repeated.

"That seems like it'll be tricky." Naruto blinked. He and Kurenai had just approached a large field of very long, tall grass. He pulled out the radar and checked it. "It's in there."

"We'll have to split up from here. If you find it, throw a kunai with an explosive tag into the sky." said Kurenai. "And good luck." She disappeared through the thick grass, Naruto following after a few seconds later.

The grass itched irritably as he pushed his way through it. It seemed to go on and on without end, and there were even a few things that bit him, one of them was probably a snake, but thanks to the nine-tails, he was safe from its venom (assuming it was venomous).

Finally, he came out in a small clearing in the field, where he saw something glint on the ground. A Dragon Ball!

"Awesome. That makes three." He said to himself. He heard something rustle in the grass and whipped around, flinging a kunai in that direction. Whatever it was, it was much bigger than a snake. He drew his sword and ran up to where he heard the same rustling sound, shortening a chunk of grass. Nothing there. He then heard hurried footsteps and as he batted off an attack his sword, threw a second kunai which was just barely blocked by the attacker.

"Nicely done." said the familiar low voice of a familiar person. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw who stood before him.

"Sasuke!" he gasped. Sasuke's appearance had changed noticeably since Naruto had last seen him. He seemed a little taller now, his normally dark eyes were now yellow and snake-like, and his raven hair was notably longer and somewhat shaggier. He wore black pants with an array of weaponry, including a sword, a black sleeveless shirt, and white wrappings around his forearms.

"Naruto. It's been a while." said Sasuke coldly. "I see you're interested in the dragon balls too. Hand them over."

"Like hell!" Naruto snapped. "What would you want with them? To give Orochimaru more power than he already has!" Sasuke laughed evilly at this statement.

"No. Orochimaru is dead, and I have all the power he used to possess." He said coolly. "I want those things for my own purposes. Now hand over whatever dragon balls you have, or else." He pulled out his sword.

"No! I need them to save someone I care about!" Naruto growled, charging at Sasuke, their swords clashing. He struck a second time, this time Sasuke dodged, and Naruto's sword shortened a long line of grass for a fair distance. He held his arms over his head, his blade blocking an attack from Sasuke from behind. He turned and made a sweep at his feet. Sasuke jumped the sweep easily and struck straight downward, but Naruto pulled something from his pocket and swept upward with it, cutting Sasuke across the cheek. With a firm kick, he knocked Sasuke away, putting distance between them. He tied an exploding tag to the kunai and flung it at Sasuke, who batted away with his blade effortlessly. The kunai flew into the sky, where it exploded.

"Not bad. You actually cut me." Sasuke growled, wiping the blood from the slash mark. "But sneak attacks only work once. So now what?" His eyes turned orange, three six-like markings encircling the outer iris, his pupils still snake-like slits.

"That's a sharingan in a different color. Literally." Naruto thought. He focused for a moment and his eyes turned red with slitted pupils, and his finger nails became claws. A fiery red aura of chakra surrounded him.

"That red chakra." Sasuke thought. "I remember that from our last fight. It's a little different than before, but," He narrowed his eyes on concentration. "But I've learned much since then. And those feeble tricks of his won't work on me anymore." He charged at Naruto just as Naruto made to lash at Sasuke, and their swords collided. They skipped back a pace and Sasuke placed a hand on the flat of his blade and it glowed electric blue, several bright sparks flying from it. He lowered it near the ground, searing the dirt and made another run at Naruto, his augmented weapon leaving a singed trail behind it.

"It's over! Naruto!" Sasuke roared. Naruto knew he was right. The attack was so fast and so powerful, it would be a waste of effort to dodge, and even stupider to block it. He centered his thoughts and in his mind's eye, he saw one of the kunai he threw earlier. "If only that would be of any use to me right now." He thought. He mentally made to pick up the weapon, but when he did so, he suddenly vanished from the corner he was trapped in. He found himself in the tall grass, the kunai at his feet.

"What…? What just happened?" He asked himself. He looking up, he saw Sasuke's back, and a great deal of grass shaved off the ground. Sasuke's blade returned to normal and he looked around for his opponent, confused.

Naruto picked up the kunai and raised an eyebrow as he looked at it. It certainly wasn't a typical, standard issue kunai. This one had a longer blade, with two sharp prongs sticking out near its base. The handle was wooden with a black inscription on it in a language Naruto couldn't understand. A spark flashed in the back of his mind as he remembered this weapon. It was the one Kakashi had given him just before he left the village. Then he remembered looking through the pouches on his flak jacket and that there were a few more just like it in some of them. Then he realized that the first two kunai he threw he pulled from the vest. "Is this that jutsu Kakashi-sensei told me about?" He thought.

Naruto jumped from the grass, sword raised. He struck at Sasuke, who blocked, but only barely. He almost lost his grip on his weapon and there was a glance cut on his shoulder. Naruto attacked at a now opened Sasuke, whose sword was now forced out of his hands. He leapt back, doing a back flip as he cycled several hand signs.

"Fire Element! Fire ball Jutsu!" He cried, a massive flame blasting from his mouth, Naruto very narrowly avoided and setting a lot of the grass on fire. Naruto found himself back at the same place as before, with the wooden-handled kunai at his feet. An idea sparked into his mind. He picked up the weapon and threw it at Sasuke, who batted it off easily, but looked very surprised. He ran to Naruto's current location, only to find that he had vanished.

Before Sasuke even had the chance to turn around, Naruto had sheathed his sword and formed his ultimate jutsu. With a magnificent shout of "RASENGAN!" He pounded Sasuke square in the back blowing him far away into the grass field and out of sight.

"I need to find Kurenai-sensei and get out of here soon." He said to himself, giving a breath of relief. He gathered up the two wooden-handled kunai he had thrown earlier and pulled out a normal one along with an explosive tag. Just as he was tying the tag to the knife, a loud roar reached his ears and Sasuke burst through the tall grass, a manic look in his bright orange eyes.

"How dare a mere KID ridicule me!" Several thick tendrils fired from Sasuke's arms and impaled Naruto all over his body. "I don't know who's voice that was, but it certainly wasn't Sasuke's." Naruto thought.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"You should know that already." said a cold, low voice from Sasuke's mouth. "I am your former friend and now your worst enemy. Sasuke Uchiha."

"Bull. That's not Sasuke's voice I'm hearing." Naruto retorted. Sasuke gave a smirk of interest.

"You're not as dumb as you let on." He sneered. Sasuke's body began to deform grotesquely, his skin becoming chalk white, his body thin and slender, his hair receding into his head, his face flattening, his ears disappearing and his nose receding until he had nothing more than a pair of slits for nostrils, reptilian scales visible all over his body, and eight snake-like tails grew from behind. "I am Orochi, the eight-tailed serpent, now in the body of a far more powerful and far more worthy of my capabilities."

Naruto gritted his teeth, which were now like fangs. "How long has Sasuke had a disgusting thing like you inside him?" He demanded.

"Not long, actually. Only about a day now." Orochi smirked. "I see you're a jinchuriki as well." With a flick of one of his fingers, the tendrils receded and Naruto, staggering stood back up right. "Come out and say hello to your old friend, Youkomaru."

Naruto felt himself fade from existence as his body too began to transform. He grew taller and more muscular, his hair growing slightly longer and becoming a rusty red like his ears, and seven more tails grew to accompany the other two. "There you are, Youkomaru. It's been too long." Orochi hissed.

"Not long enough." retorted Youkomaru. "What do you want, Orochi? I've gotten bored with fighting you about two hundred years ago."

"I don't care. I will destroy you, and you will rue the day you messed with me!" said Orochi sharply.

"Ugh. Rue the day." Youkomaru grunted in a high-pitched mockery of Orochi. "Who says that, honestly?"

"Shut up! I am not leaving until I've settled the score with you, you mangy mutt!" Orochi growled irritably.

"If it'll get you outta my hair, then fine." Youkomaru sighed. Orochi opened his mouth wide and an acid-colored liquid squirt from his fangs. Youkomaru dodged the shot and vanished in a rust-red flash, upon reappearance, Orochi was covered in slash marks and Youkomaru had been bitten.

"You haven't lost your touch after all these years locked in that kid." Orochi hissed.

"And you're just as boring an opponent as ever." Youkomaru retorted. He drew Naruto's sword, muttered, "Pity the kid has no idea how to use this thing." And just as Orochi came close enough to strike a fatal blow, plunged the blade down through his mouth.

"You!" Orochi growled in manic furry, his voice oddly distorted through the holes in his mouth. "How dare you!" Youkomaru laughed at the disfigured Orochi, who was on the verge of explosion. "If I were to transform to my demon form, I would crush you into dust!"

"Just try it then!" Youkomaru taunted. Orochi growled furiously, and he grew several feet, but then returned to his normal size, looking frustrated and confused. "It really is a shame that Naruto doesn't know how to use Tamashi no Kiri." Youkomaru chuckled complacently. Absolutely livid, Orochi, despite his best wishes, began to transform back into Sasuke, who, seemed confused at the sight of Youkomaru. "So, shall we continue our battle?" He smirked.

Immediately, the curse mark on the back of Sasuke's neck flared, flame-like markings spreading across his body, but they receded almost as suddenly as they appeared. Youkomaru transformed back into Naruto, who also seemed perplexed at what just happened.

"Well played, Naruto." Sasuke muttered. "But you're not the one I'm interested in."

"You're still so hell bent on Itachi!" Naruto growled. "Why? What purpose does it serve now! Would it bring back your clan if he was dead?"

"He has killed my entire family, and for what? To test his strength. My clan was nothing more than a training session to him. And that is intolerable. Unforgivable. No matter what, I must… I will… destroy Itachi Uchiha!" Sasuke stated. "And right now, I have the means to do so. You were just a test for me, to see just what I can accomplish. Now that I understand my limits, I'm ready to target the leaf village!" he vanished into the tall grass, Naruto ready to stop, him, but too late.

He whipped around as he heard more rustling in the grass behind him, sword raised. "Oh, it's you." He said, giving a breath of relief and sheathing the sword. It was Kurenai, who looked battle-ready, but dropped her stance and hand sign once she saw Naruto was alone in the clearing.

"I heard noises coming from this area. It sounded like a battle." She said.

"There was a battle here. I had a run-in with Sasuke." said Naruto.

"The Uchiha boy!" said Kurenai, bewildered. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Naruto nodded. "I feel like there's a chunk of memory missing from that fight, and I'm fairly sure that I've been hurt worse than I feel right now," he looked behind him to see not just two, but nine tails swishing around behind him. "But other than that, yeah. Except…"

"Except what?"

"Sasuke said that he was looking to attack the Leaf Village."

"What!" Kurenai gasped. "Then we have to go back! Did he take the dragon ball?"

"No, I have…" Naruto broke off. He had reached into his pocket to show her the six-starred ball, but it wasn't there. "He must have snagged it while we were fighting. It's gone." Kurenai looked troubled.

"What would he want to attack the Leaf Village for?" She asked.

"I don't understand it myself." Naruto shrugged. "It almost sounds like he thought Itachi was there."

"That doesn't make any sense." Kurenai mused. "Itachi had already tried to attack the village once before and he was thwarted away. Why would he be inside the village now?"

"I don't know, but whatever cause or the reason, it can't be good." said Naruto. "Nimbus!" the little yellow cloud zoomed down from the sky and Naruto and Kurenai hopped onto it. "Get us back to the Leaf Village! Hurry!" He told it. They sped away, just as a claw slashed out from the grass.

"Damn! I was hoping to have someone new to play with." said a woman with feral red hair streaked with black, who was accompanied by a large black panther, who gave an irritated growl. "You'll be able to gnaw on his bones soon, my pet." the woman told her pet sadistically. "Where did he go!"

"It sounded as though they were returning to their village." muttered an arachnid-like man who entered the clearing.

"oooh! I'm sure there's all kinds of people to tear to shreds there." the woman smiled maniacally.

"Cool it, Luna. No flaying until after we get what we want."

Meanwhile, Naruto and Kurenai had just passed the border of the Leaf Village, zooming passed the large walls surrounding it. They stopped at the Hokage's mansion.

"Lady Hokage!" Kurenai stated urgently. "We believe Sasuke Uchiha is coming here to launch a dangerous assault on the Hidden Leaf Village! We have to…"

"Uh! What?" Tsunade yawned. He desk was so heavily laden with papers, she couldn't even be seen behind her paperwork. She formed parted the stacks so that she could see both Naruto and Kurenai. "Sorry. This was my break time, so I decided to take a little nap. What were you saying now?"

"Sasuke's about to attack the Leaf Village!" said Naruto impatiently. "He thinks Itachi's here, and he plans to tear this village apart until he's found him."

"That's impossible! If Itachi was in the Village, I would have known about it!" said Tsunade. "After he attacked last time, the village has been on high alert for any Akatsuki activity in the village. Half the anbu is on constant village surveillance!"

"Regardless of whether or not Itachi is in the village." said Kurenai. "Sasuke still has full intention of attacking the village!"

"And he has the means to do so." Naruto added. "He has the eight-tailed serpent inside him." Tsunade's jaw dropped, her skin turning unusually pale.

"The… eight-tails!" She repeated. "That's impossible. The jinchuriki of that beast is…"

"Orochimaru, I know." Naruto nodded. "Sasuke killed him and now the eight-tails is his." Tsunade bit her thumb.

"And if he can kill a sannin that easily without the eight-tails, that only makes him all the more dangerous. Shizune!" A young woman in a black kimono, the right sleeve of which looked heavily patched, burst into the room, panting.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" She breathed.

"We're suspecting an attack on the Leaf Village." said Tsunade urgently. "Alert the border patrol, don't allow ANYBODY, Leaf ninja or otherwise in or out of the village, tell every chuunin and jounin to stay alert, and inform the anbu, tell them to double their searches for any possible Akatsuki, and to expect an attack at any moment!"

"Yes!" Shizune bowed and dashed from the room. Kurenai gave a sudden gasp.

"Hinata! She's in trouble!" She breathed.

"I'll handle it!" said Naruto, calling the flying nimbus near a window and hoping onto it. "Back in a minute." He zoomed down to the hospital where Hinata lay, leapt through the window, and pinned a small, masked figure against the wall, forcing the knife from its hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" He demanded angrily. he ripped down the mask and his eyes widened as he saw whose face was behind it. "You!"

"Me." said a young girl flatly. It was Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister. "And I thought it was obvious what I'm doing. I'm here to kill this disgrace to the Hyuuga clan." Naruto grabbed her even tighter to the wall.

"How can you say that! How can you DO that to your own sister!" Naruto growled, his eyes reddening, but Hanabi didn't seem threatened.

"That thing is not my sister. We're only half related." Hanabi scoffed. "I was born for one reason, and one reason only: to replace that scum that you call my sister as the heir to the Hyuuga clan!"

"Why? because you want to? Or because it's something your bastard of a father made you do?" Naruto barked.

"Don't you dare talk about my father that way!" Hanabi snapped. Much to even his utter shock, Naruto actually slapped Hanabi across the face, knocking her to the floor.

"How can you do this, Hanabi! How can you so blindly obey someone who treats someone's life with such low regard!"

"I'm not obeying him because I want to. I'm doing it because I have no choice!" Hanabi screamed. "It's something I have to do. It's my destiny! It's…" Naruto yanked Hanabi off her feet and pinned her against the wall with such force, it created a small indent against the wall.

"Fuck destiny!" He roared. "You have no will, nor reason to be killing your sister, I don't care if you're only half related! And if your father is forcing you to do these things, then he's no father of yours!"

"I told you not to talk about my father that way!" Hanabi snapped, her byakugan active, but Naruto was faster and stronger than her. He tightened his already powerful grip, his finger nails becoming claws and piercing her skin.

"COME TO YOUR SENSES! Your dad is making you kill your sister! Is that something you're willing to deal with for the rest of your life! IS IT!" Naruto bellowed. He didn't care if this was a hospital. He didn't care how loud he spoke. The only thing that mattered was pounding some sense into Hanabi. "Can you live with yourself years from now when that bastard deems you too weak to be heir and has you killed and replaced! The same way he did to Hinata? The same way he made you kill her! Because if this is the way the Hyuugas do things, if this is the way that your father does things, it won't be the perfect way you think it will be!"

Hanabi stared at Naruto with a mix of fear and bewilderment. "Even if I leave her alone now, father won't be forgiving." She mumbled sorrowfully.

"He most certainly won't be!" The door burst open and Hiashi Hyuuga stepped in, giving Hanabi a look of utter contempt. "Why do you protect this… scum!" He asked Naruto nastily, looking over at Hinata.

"That 'scum' is my friend. No, something far more." said Naruto sharply, setting Hanabi down easily. "And I won't let any harm come to her, especially not from the likes of you!"

"She's worthless. An heir who is weak deserves to die." Hiashi stated. It was Hiashi's turn to get a thrashing from Naruto this time. He punched him in so many places at such a high speed, not even the Byakugan could have seen it.

"It's people like you!" Naruto snarled, punching Hiashi in the face to the point that blood dripped from his nose and mouth. "People like you, who think the value of people's lives is determined solely on strength, who think destiny dominates your life, who deserve to die! And if you try to harm Hinata one more time, just one. More. Time! I WILL kill you without second thoughts!" He threw Hiashi aside, disgusted. "You really think Hitomi would have wanted this! She trusted you to protect and care for Hinata. To help her through her struggles, but all you've ever done is make her life worse. She carries the seven-tailed cat within her. She's a jinchuriki, just like me. And the pain that you and your stupid clan has put her through is a pain that no child should ever suffer! She's no insult to her mother's memory. YOU are!" Hiashi said nothing as he got to his feet. He simply looked at Naruto, then at Hinata, then at Hanabi, his face unconvincingly stoic.

"Then keep her safe." He said so quietly Naruto barely heard. "Come on, Hanabi. We're going."

"Yes." Hanabi followed after her father. She cast an apologetic look at Naruto and hurried to catch up with Hiashi.

"Where are your manners? This is a hospital, you know." said a low, serenely echoing voice.

"Sorry about that." said Naruto, lowering his voice, which was somewhat hoarse from the screaming.

"Don't be. I soundproofed the room just when I thought things would start to get loud." said the familiar voice of Ren, the seven-tailed cat. "And thank you very much for defending Hinata. Thank you for protecting both of us."

"I just did what I had to do." Naruto smiled. He noticed Hinata move slightly, and even give a small breath.

"I think she may be getting better." said Ren. "I've been trying the best I could to rid her of the venom in her body."

"Really! That's amazing!" said Naruto proudly.

"Yes, but it may be some time before she's fully cured of it. Until then, she's still at risk. You should continue to search for the dragon balls just to be safe." said Ren.

"I know you can save her. Besides, I have a bigger reason to be looking for them now." said Naruto. "I've run into quite a few people who want them, and they can be very dangerous in their hands."

"I understand. Then…" But Ren never finished her sentence, for at that moment, the earth shook violently, several panicked voices could be heard downstairs.

"It's him." said Naruto darkly. "He's finally here."

**To be continued….**

**Sorry it's taken so long to update this story, but I've been busy with the conclusion of the first saga of Dragon Ball GT Remastered, plus a couple of things in real life that have kept me busy. **

**But hurray! I've finally hit the 10 chapter point of Legacy of the Legend! Hopefully the next chapter will be posted sooner than this one took.**


	11. The Avenger

"It's him." said Naruto darkly. "He's finally here."

"Who?" asked Ren.

"Sasuke."

"Seal the gate!" Every Chuunin and Jounin-level Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village was gathered at the front gate of the village, which slammed shut with an echoing bang, several locks and braces crossing over it, barricading the only way in and out of the village. The metallic sound of blades being drawn rang across the entrance, everyone in a battle-ready position, ready to fend off the intruders.

"Have the defenses been set?" Kurenai asked an Anbu soldier.

"Yes, ma'am." The Anbu nodded. "Thank you for warning us of these intruders."

"I didn't say intruders. I said intruder." said Kurenai. Though the Anbu's face was hidden behind his painted mask, his shock and confusion was quite evident. Everyone flinched as the gate shook, a loud thud audible. Another loud thud, this time accompanied with the sound of wood being splintered. The third blow to the massive oak entrance broke one of the wooden doors free of its hinges, sending it crashing loudly to the ground, many shinobi running to avoid being crushed. The mounting tension from this sudden attack was soon dissipated, as there was no one to be seen, much less an intruder. Just like when the gates were being smashed on, the ninja standing defensively flinched, as a boys voice roared loudly enough to break the other gate off,'

"ITAAAAAAACHIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" A young boy with raven hair and snake-like golden eyes burst through the defenses without paying even the slightest bit of mind to the chuunin, jounin, and anbu all around him. He plowed through the village, smashing through building after building, repeating his cry of, "ITACHIIII!"

"After him!" An anbu commanded. Several masked ninja in light armored grey battle suits charged after Sasuke Uchiha, who with a simple glance, forced the elite shinobi into the dirt.

"ITACHI!" He shouted again, jumping to the highest building he could see and whipping his head around feverishly, looking for his prey.

"Calm yourself!" Orochi hissed within him. "This is just what he wants, to make you so tired and frustrated that you won't stand a chance."

"Fuck off!" Sasuke snapped at the tailed beast. "This is my fight, not yours! You're only to give me the power necessary to kill him, nothing more. I'll tear this village to dust if I have to!"

"How long do you plan to dwell on revenge?" said a serious voice behind. Sasuke turned to see the masked face of Kakashi Hatake. He gave a breath of patience and grinned wildly as he looked upon his former teacher.

"I've finally drawn you out of hiding." said Sasuke in a darkly triumphant way.

"Hm? What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked casually.

"Drop that stupid act." Sasuke barked. "You're not fooling me anymore, Itachi Uchiha!"

"W-what!" Naruto had just come onto the scene.

"Naruto. Yeah, you heard right." said Sasuke flatly. "This man," He pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi. "Is, has always been the man I have long sought after: Itachi Uchiha."

"You're lying!" Naruto spat. "How can it be possible that he's...?"

"What gave me away?" Kakashi cut across Naruto, a note of amusement in his voice. Naruto gasped, realizing that Sasuke was anything but lying.

"Far too many things." Sasuke answered. "You were far too familiar with my fighting style during the Genin exam. At first, I thought it was simply because you were such a skilled jounin, but there was something else: your response when we introduced ourselves, when I stated my desire for vengeance." Naruto remembered like it was yesterday, remembered fearing that it was him Sasuke wanted to kill.

"What I have is no dream. Because I WILL make it a reality: I will restore my clan. And destroy... a certain someone!"

"No jounin would have been so easy-going about such a proclamation." Sasuke continued. "But there was one thing that gave far too much away, your biggest mistake: The Sharingan."

"But it was transplanted from..." Naruto began, but Sasuke cut him off.

"Do you really believe that feeble story?" He snapped. "Even if that story were true, the Sharingan wouldn't have worked, it would have simply become an ordinary eye for him, or it would have forced itself from his head."

"But then how do you explain when Itachi came to the village?" Naruto asked. "He tortured and incapacitated Kakashi-sensei with some genjutsu. How could he have done that to himself?"

"The 'Itachi' that casted that genjutsu was an imposter, a fake that the real one manipulated to further his pathetic ruse." said Sasuke. "It's true that his power was great, but nowhere on par with the real Itachi. His abilities were all off: Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, they may have been dangerous jutsu, but the ones used by that fake were nothing more than cheap imitations."

"Your deductions are brilliant, but how did you figure it out?" Kakashi asked.

"As I said, those jutsu the imposter used were cheap imitations of the real Sharingan, Tsukuyomi, and Amaterasu. The simple fact that he used those false jutsus was enough for me to know. That did nothing but infuriate me more: Infuriate me that I was dominated by cheap imitations of incredible jutsu."

"I see." Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"And I'm interested to know a few things of you," Sasuke went on. "First of all, who was that imposter? I think I'll kill him next for shaming the Uchiha with those shameful parlor tricks."

"If you must know," Kakashi smirked. "One of the Akatsuki, we simply know him as Enigma. A true master of disguise."

"Second. What was that lecture really about?" Sasuke pressed on. "Where you told me to give up on revenge, that you 'lost everyone and everything you held dear?' Was that another pitiful attempt to further your act? To throw me off the course you knew I was on? Or was there something else behind it?"

"A little of all of them, you could say." Kakashi answered. "Is there anything more you wish to know? I thought you were here to kill me, not ask me about things you claim to already know?"

"That's right. Now lose that stupid disguise!" Sasuke growled.

Naruto wanted to believe beyond anything that this was nothing more than a lie, that the man who now discarded his headband and revealing a pair of bright red eyes, was really his sensei, that Sasuke was wrong on all his accusations about him. But as Kakashi's light grey hair shortened, turning jet black, as he finally pulled down the mask that obscured his face, he knew that Sasuke was absolutely right, that the man who stood before him was Itachi Uchiha.

"Wait! Where's the real Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto demanded.

"Probably dead in the Stone Tower Fortress by now." Itachi said simply, turning back to his little brother.

"Stone Tower Fortress?" Naruto repeated, but he was forced back by an unknown cause. When he got back, up, both Itachi and Sasuke were out of sight. Then, two massive jets of fire collided with one another, each one snuffing the other out. Several chinks of metal and blade could be heard, but to Naruto's eyes, the fighting brothers were just brief, black blurs.

"If you had no chance against enigma, that 'shameful imposter,' what hope to you think you have with me?" Itachi asked tauntingly, deflecting a kunai tossed by Sasuke. "I know all of your abilities, inside and out." Sasuke growled angrily and pulled out a scroll. From it, he whipped out two large fuma Shuriken, which he threw one after the other at Itachi, who smirked at this feeble attack.

"Did you honestly think that would work?" He grunted, catching the weapons in each hand. Suddenly, two more fuma shuriken hurtled his way. "Shadow shuriken jutsu? Pathetic." He leapt between the oncoming weapons, and turned, throwing the ones in his hands at the Shadow Clones the second set of shuriken turned into, making them vanish into dust.

"I witnessed that idiotic improve myself." Itachi smirked demeaningly at Sasuke. "Why would you think it would work on me?"

"Because your over confidence is what will lose you this fight." Sasuke retorted, the shuriken Itachi threw turning into shadow clones and hurling several kunai at Itachi's back, who dodged all but two of the knives, which stuck in his back. He made a number of hand signs, before calling,

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" _And several fiery bursts shot from Sasuke's mouth, Itachi dodging each one effortlessly, he was shocked, however, to find that under the flame of the last few shots, were kunai equipped with explosive tags, which blew up in his face.

"Come on. I know a few feeble blasts like that weren't enough to do you in." Sasuke called tauntingly. He whirled around, hand glowing with bright lightning chakra. _"Chidori!" _Just as Itachi came at him from behind with his own Chidori. The two lightning attacks clashed against each other, making an ear-splitting grinding sound; like that of a thousand birds. They broke apart, each rapidly forming hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" _both brothers fired a heavy burst of flames from their mouths, which burned into one another, but Itachi was surprised to notice that, even though their attacks were still clashing with each other, Sasuke was still making hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Inferno Beast Jutsu!" _ And the flame that still erupted from his mouth formed into an immense demonic creature, glowing angrily with pure, white-hot fire. The beast gave an echoing roar before flying at Itachi, whose sharingan eyes changed, the three tomoe forming a three-pointed shuriken-shape.

"_Amaterasu!" _The Inferno Beast writhed with pain as it was surrounded with even hotter, pitch-black fire, which snuffed out the flames that made up the beast's form.

"Mangekyo Sharingan." Sasuke grinned. "So that's what it's truly capable of, is it?"

"You haven't seen anything yet." said Itachi in a low, dangerous voice, his eyes widening and small red lines drawing themselves into the whites of his eyes.

"_Tsukuyomi!" _Before Sasuke knew it, he was trapped in a dark, mysterious world. Everything around him was dark as night, the sky blood red. This was familiar to him. He remembered the false Itachi placing him in a similar dimension, but he knew full well that now, he was facing the real thing. He was then engulfed in fire, a blade piercing his flesh.

"_Death…." _A sharp voice rasped all around him. _"Pain…. Suffering…. Death…. Is all that awaits you." _ He turned to see a demonic figure in a mask holding the blade that now pierced all the way through his torso.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked the creature, actually amused. His yellow eyes became a piercing orange as he activated his sharingan, mixed with the powers of the eight-tails. The armor, mask, and weapon of the masked demon disintegrated, revealing Itachi. "Is that all Tsukuyomi can do? I'm disappointed. That imposter put me through worse."

"Then I'll make you wish you could die!" Itachi barked sharply, the black pattern in his eyes rotating in a dizzying fashion, making lightning come down through Sasuke's skull and imbedding him with so much pain, his scream could be heard all around the real Leaf Village. "And you will suffer far worse in this dimension. For 72 hours."

"Pathetic." Sasuke spat, his orange sharingan eyes glowing brightly and blowing Itachi back, Tsukuyomi fading around him. He stood shakily. He didn't even realize the attack Itachi lay on him sent him to his knees. "So this is the power of the Eight-tailed Serpent." He thought. "To make such little work of the legendary Tsukuyomi…"

"The eight-tails has nothing to do with it." Sasuke smirked. He opened his mouth, exposing a number of small, very sharp fangs, which shot venom at Itachi with blinding speeds, piercing his flesh and causing him to gasp with pain. The venom stung under his skin, ravaging his insides.

"_Chidori!" _Sasuke shouted, charging at his brother, a ball of powerful lightning chakra in hand just as Itachi yelled,

"_Raikiri!" _ The tomoe within the elder brother's eyes formed a fan-blade shape, which glared deeply into Sasuke's orange eyes. In a loud crackling sound like lightning, Sasuke impaled Itachi with his attack, though he didn't exactly emerge from the battle unscathed himself. Itachi laughed as he fell to the ground, before silencing forever.

"What…?" Sasuke blinked, looking around as though this were the first time ever seeing the village he was born in. "What happened? What is this place?" He looked at himself, panicked with the blood he was covered in. "Who am I?" He turned to see his brother lying dead, a massive hole through his chest. "Did I do that?"

"Sasuke?" Naruto blinked, walking closer to his old teammate. "Are you…?" Much to the utter shock of everyone witnessing, Sasuke shrieked loudly with fear, running away with near inhuman speed. He dashed through the gates of the village and out of sight. Naruto blinked again at where Sasuke had disappeared into the distance.

"What the hell…?" He breathed.

"Naruto, is everything alright?" Kurenai panted as she made her way to him. "Where's Sasuke? What was he after?"

"Itachi, but he's dead now. I don't know where Sasuke went, though. He just… ran away." Naruto explained. "He was acting really weird though. He didn't seem to remember where he was, or what he was doing prior to killing Itachi."

"Strange…" Kurenai mused.

"Kurenai-sensei, what's the Stone Tower Fortress?" Naruto asked. Kurenai gave him a confused expression.

"Itachi has been masquerading as Kakashi-sensei for the longest time since he supposedly left the village." Naruto explained. "I asked him where the real Kakashi was, and he said something about him being at the Stone Tower Fortress. Do you have any idea as to where or what that is?"

"Well, there's a supposed place like that somewhere, but…." Kurenai said uncertainly.

"But what?" Naruto asked.

"It's in Kamui, so it's unknown if it even exists." Kurenai answered.

"Kamui?" Naruto repeated blankly.

"It's an unexplored region far beyond the Five Great Nations." said Kurenai. "It's been avoided for many years because nobody who has made to explore it has ever returned. If you're interested in looking for your sensei there, I think it's that you…"

"I'm going to Kamui, then." Naruto stated. "I don't care if it is cursed or whatever. Even if he was just an imposter, Kakashi-sensei never left his comrades behind! I'm sure the real Kakashi Hatake would be the same way!"

"Then I'm coming with you." Said Kurenai.

"Same here." Said a voice from behind.

"Kiba?" Kurenai blinked.

"I'm here too." Shino grunted. "And I can't let the rest of Team 8 go alone."

"Me, too." Naruto gasped as he saw Hinata walking to them, Hanabi at her side. Hinata was clearly being helped by Ren, as her ears were cat-like rather than human, her eyes were silvery blue, and the seven-tailed cat's tails swished behind her.

"I know you don't respect me after what I tried to do," Hanabi stated solemnly. "But I hope that I can be of help to my half sister…"

"Don't worry about it." Naruto chuckled. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing for hitting you."

"I deserved it." Hanabi mumbled.

"I wish to join you too!" A boy with very large, round eyes, big eye brows, and a full-body green jumpsuit stepped in, giving his signature thumbs-up and toothy grin.

"Lee? Do you know where we're even going?" said Naruto seriously.

"Yes. You plan to go to Kamui to find Kakashi Hatake." Lee recited. "Gai-sensei overheard you himself, and he wishes for me to train to the best of my abilities to recover his TRUE rival!"

"But you've only just recently recovered." Said Kurenai. "You can't seriously be planning to join us, much less to somewhere as dangerous as Kamui…"

"I am indeed!" Lee stated with confidence. "I will not let my previous injury get in my way of becoming stronger and stronger!"

"In that case, let's go!" Naruto piped up, marching ahead for the others to follow.

"Sister? Are you alright to…?" Hanabi whispered.

"I'll be fine." Hinata smiled assumingly to her half sister, who was supporting her as she walked. "Don't worry about me." Just as the team had reached the previously torn-down village gates, however, they were stopped by three other people.

"Lee! Where the hell do you think you're going!" Tenten burst out, making to drag him away.

"But Gai-sensei told me to…!" Lee told her.

"Nuts to what Gai-sensei told you! You need your rest!" Tenten cut him off.

"He has my permission to come with us." Said Kurenai. Tenten looked from her to Lee uncertainly, then,

"Fine." She grumbled, dropping Lee forcefully. "But I'm coming too!"

"Yeah, and so am I. It's a real irritating drag, but what could you guys do without me?" sighed Shikamaru.

"Well, our party has gotten pretty big now, hasn't it?" Kurenai laughed. "If that's all the people who want to jump on board…"

"Wait, Naruto!" Sakura spoke up. "Sasuke was here in the village, wasn't he?" Naruto felt an uncomfortable twinge. He knew he'd have to face Sakura sooner or later, but there was no avoiding the truth. "Where is he now?"

"Uh, he's gone." Said Naruto. "I don't know how it happened, but he lost his memory and he ran off…" Sakura blinked at him, as though unsure if she heard him correctly.

"What?" She said. "Well… he's coming back… isn't he?"

"He lost all his memory." Said Naruto. "He didn't remember a thing about where he was, what he had done, or even who he was. If his memories come back, it'll be some time before…" He stopped himself. His optimistic lie was pathetic, even he knew it. He sighed and told her honestly, "Probably not, no."

Sakura nodded silently, understanding the truth.

"Good luck, Naruto, everyone." She said seriously. "I hope you find Kakashi-sensei real soon. Uh, Lee told me all about it…" Naruto gave her a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it." He said, smiling. "And Kakashi-sensei too. I promise!" and with that, he and the rest of the team he assembled left the Leaf Village for the Stone Tower Fortress. As soon as the backs of her friends vanished from view, Sakura collapsed into tears.

"Why?" She asked herself with shaky breath. "Why is it that all I can ever do is wait for my comrades!"

**Meanwhile, in an unknown location…**

"_The boy just seems to have a fascination with mystery and danger." _Said the mysterious Ze, after receiving news from his counterpart.

"What have you discovered this time?" asked the shadowy Akatsuki leader.

"_He's heading for Kamui now." _Ze responded. Several of the surrounding Akatsuki either showed confused or amused expressions.

"Kamui?" The leader repeated.

"_That's what Tsu tells me." _Said Ze. _"And what's more interesting, the Stone Tower Fortress." _

"Oh? And what of Itachi?"

"_KIA by his little brother." _

"So Uzumaki knows the truth then?" one of the shadowy figures spoke up. "Is that why he's coming here?"

"Dispose of Itachi's corpse and keep track of his activity." The leader ordered.

"_I can tail the boy, easy enough," _ said Ze, _"But Itachi's… gone."_

"We know he's dead…"

"_No, I mean his corpse is nowhere to be found."_

"What? How….?"

"_I'm not sure, but the eight-tailed serpent seemed to have left Sasuke shortly after his memory was erased as well. And I think Tsu would tell me if a tailed beast was roaming freely. What do you think this means?" _

"I think we all know what it means." The leader said grimly.

**To be continued….**

**Ugh, Sorry to keep you all waiting. Again. Well, hopefully now that I've gotten all that Sasuke crap out of the way, I can get this series going without another long wait. Those kill me, by the way. They really do. So, anyway, what dangers await our heroes? Find out next chapter! See you then!**


	12. The Discontinuation?

**Attention, readers of Legacy of the Legend. As of tonight, until further notice, this story has been discontinued. I know this must come as a dissapointment, but as of late, I've rather lost the spark for this series, and had a really hard time trying to write the next chapter. **

**You see, I originally wrote this before Shippuden was introduced to the U.S., hence why the canon has been thrown to the curb like it has been and the alternate takes on several events, the Seven-Tailed Cat, Kakashi's real identity, etc. While I have no problem ignoring Shippuden and coming up with my own take on some events, I just can't find the drive to continue this story.**

**Maybe I'll find the drive and continue it again someday, who knows? I know that if I do pick it back up, (I certainly hope so) I'll most likely go back and revise the earlier chapters (1-5 or 6). Until then, Legacy of the Legend will be discontinued as of today. I'm not taking it down in case I renew my inspiration for it, but don't expect any further updates any time soon. **

**Thank you all for your time and patronage.**


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